Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Price

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.65% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on FirstEnergy in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of FirstEnergy from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.91.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

FirstEnergy stock opened at $41.79 on Friday. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $35.41 and a 1 year high of $44.97. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.51.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.64% and a return on equity of 11.38%. FirstEnergy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balanced Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in FirstEnergy by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in FirstEnergy by 4.4% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 5,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in FirstEnergy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 16,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $750,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in FirstEnergy by 0.7% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 44,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.