FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on FE. UBS Group increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. TD Cowen raised FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on FirstEnergy from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE stock opened at $46.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $47.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.21. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $42.87 and a one year high of $52.34. The company has a market capitalization of $27.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.45.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth about $37,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.