FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target Cut to $52.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $53.00 to $52.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.48% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $56.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of FirstEnergy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wolfe Research lowered FirstEnergy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.83.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:FE traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.23. 1,367,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,726,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.45. FirstEnergy has a twelve month low of $42.87 and a twelve month high of $52.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.94 and a 200 day moving average of $48.32. The stock has a market cap of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.46.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 6.86%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth $256,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the first quarter valued at about $289,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in FirstEnergy by 7.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in FirstEnergy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 43,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 12,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in FirstEnergy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About FirstEnergy

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is a U.S.-based electric utility holding company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. The company’s primary business is the delivery of electricity through its regulated transmission and distribution utilities, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers across parts of the Midwest and Mid‑Atlantic. FirstEnergy’s service territory includes states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia, and it operates primarily within the PJM regional transmission organization.

FirstEnergy’s core activities center on owning and operating electric distribution networks and transmission systems, maintaining and upgrading grid infrastructure, managing storm response and restoration, and offering customer programs that include energy efficiency and reliability services.