FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Now Covered by HSBC

Investment analysts at HSBC assumed coverage on shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. HSBC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.93% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on FE. Barclays dropped their price target on FirstEnergy from $54.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $47.00 price objective on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.83.

FirstEnergy Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of FirstEnergy stock opened at $45.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.52 and a 200 day moving average of $46.95. The company has a market capitalization of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.43. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $42.67 and a fifty-two week high of $52.34.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FirstEnergy during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Company Profile

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is an electric utility company focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers power to residential, commercial and industrial customers and maintains the poles, lines, substations and other infrastructure that support electric service.

FirstEnergy’s distribution operations serve customers across parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland. Its utility companies include Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison, Jersey Central Power & Light, Met-Ed, Penelec, Penn Power, West Penn Power, Mon Power and The Potomac Edison Company.