Guggenheim Raises FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $47.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Guggenheim from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price points to a potential upside of 22.33% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on FE. Wolfe Research lowered shares of FirstEnergy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.15.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $38.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $39.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.89. The company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. FirstEnergy has a 12-month low of $36.81 and a 12-month high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.03). FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.38% and a net margin of 6.64%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.53 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 69.3% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of FirstEnergy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

About FirstEnergy

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.