Bank of America Increases FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $43.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Bank of America from $42.00 to $43.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on FE. KeyCorp raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on FirstEnergy from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price 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, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.27.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FE stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.59. 775,593 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,931,712. The company has a market cap of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.49. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $43.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 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 company had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.7 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 FE. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 1,150.9% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 663 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

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.