FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.75% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on FE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.82.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $43.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $34.73 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.64.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 16,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 29,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in FirstEnergy by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 95,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after purchasing an additional 16,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $428,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities.