HSBC Initiates Coverage on FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE)

Key Points

• HSBC initiated coverage of FirstEnergy with a “buy” rating and a $50 price target, implying approximately 9.9% upside from the stock’s $45.48 price.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: seven analysts rate FirstEnergy a Buy and five rate it Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $50.83.
• FirstEnergy reported quarterly EPS of $0.50, in line with estimates, while revenue of $3.68 billion exceeded the $3.51 billion consensus forecast; institutional investors own 89.41% of the company.

Research analysts at HSBC initiated coverage on shares of FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors 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 target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.93% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FE. New Street Research set a $47.00 target price on FirstEnergy in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Mizuho set a $47.00 price objective on FirstEnergy in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded FirstEnergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on FirstEnergy from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.83.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

FE opened at $45.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.95. FirstEnergy has a 1 year low of $42.67 and a 1 year high of $52.34. 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 (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.51 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 10.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FE. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,971,706 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $508,158,000 after purchasing an additional 694,449 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,396,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,377,000 after purchasing an additional 573,731 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 103.2% in the first quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,991,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $151,570,000 after buying an additional 1,519,737 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,627,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $133,116,000 after buying an additional 35,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its position in FirstEnergy by 6.4% during the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 2,621,338 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $132,797,000 after buying an additional 156,920 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.