FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Scotiabank from $41.00 to $40.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.93% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FE. StockNews.com downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four 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 target price of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $32.18 and a 1 year high of $41.17. The company has a market cap of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.07.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 13.52%. FirstEnergy’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 43,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 42,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 8.5% during the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 110,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,662 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 4.7% during the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 9,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the first quarter worth approximately $627,000. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.