FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target Cut to $53.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $54.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 11.92% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $46.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.67.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

NYSE FE traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $47.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,219,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,195,124. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.49. FirstEnergy has a 52 week low of $37.58 and a 52 week high of $48.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.64.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.15% and a net margin of 9.19%.The business’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 198.1% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 6,888,967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,350,000 after acquiring an additional 4,578,375 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in FirstEnergy by 13.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,344,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $841,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,400 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 128.5% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,275,409 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $150,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841,946 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 104.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,528,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $161,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 5,885.7% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,251,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

About FirstEnergy

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.