Morgan Stanley Cuts FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) Price Target to $47.00

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.36% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America upgraded FirstEnergy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of FirstEnergy in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, FirstEnergy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.92.

FirstEnergy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FE traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.71. The stock had a trading volume of 973,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,882,470. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $41.66 and a 200-day moving average of $40.51. The firm has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. FirstEnergy has a fifty-two week low of $37.58 and a fifty-two week high of $44.97.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.68 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 7.78% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that FirstEnergy will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at FirstEnergy

In related news, CAO Jason Lisowski sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.97, for a total transaction of $503,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,680.51. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of FirstEnergy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in FirstEnergy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,269,000. Intrua Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of FirstEnergy in the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in FirstEnergy by 63.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 48,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,969,000 after purchasing an additional 18,927 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in FirstEnergy by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. 89.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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