FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on FirstEnergy from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on FirstEnergy in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.80.

FirstEnergy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:FE traded up $0.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.78. 4,015,406 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,381,163. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. FirstEnergy has a 52-week low of $32.18 and a 52-week high of $40.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.86 and its 200-day moving average is $37.17.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.36 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 8.22% and a return on equity of 12.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 27.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,018,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,810,000 after acquiring an additional 218,439 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 11,260.9% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 137,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,703,000 after purchasing an additional 136,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in FirstEnergy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

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.