FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $44.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded FirstEnergy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.09.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE FE opened at $38.54 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.96. FirstEnergy has a one year low of $32.18 and a one year high of $40.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. Analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FE. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during 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. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 327.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.