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

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) in a note issued to investors on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $46.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.70% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp upped their price target on FirstEnergy from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.82.

FirstEnergy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:FE opened at $42.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy has a 52-week low of $34.73 and a 52-week high of $44.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.58. The firm has a market cap of $24.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 1,138.9% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in FirstEnergy in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.