FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays has upgraded FirstEnergy from an "equal weight" to an "overweight" rating, raising its price target from $43.00 to $49.00, which suggests a potential upside of 12.01% from the company's previous close.
• FirstEnergy's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.52, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.50, despite a revenue of $3.40 billion, which was slightly below the expected $3.45 billion.
• Seven research analysts currently rate FirstEnergy stock as a Buy, while eight have issued a Hold rating, indicating a general positive outlook from the investment community.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $49.00 price target on the utilities provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $43.00. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 12.35% from the stock's previous close.

FE has been the subject of several other reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $46.00 target price (down from $47.00) on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group set a $44.00 target price on FirstEnergy and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on FirstEnergy from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.31.

FirstEnergy Price Performance

Shares of FE stock traded up $0.05 on Monday, hitting $43.61. 4,027,963 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,692,073. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.51. FirstEnergy has a 12 month low of $37.58 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The stock has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.86 and a 200 day moving average of $41.16.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. FirstEnergy had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 9.31%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. FirstEnergy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.400-2.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FirstEnergy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.3% during the second quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 2.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.5% during the second quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC now owns 48,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 15.2% during the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 0.8% during the second quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.