Have you been paying attention to shares of FirstEnergy (FE)? Shares have been on the move with the stock up 2.1% over the past month. The stock hit a new 52-week high of $52.34 in the previous session. FirstEnergy has gained 16% since the start of the year compared to the 12.4% gain for the Zacks Utilities sector and the 13.7% return for the Zacks Utility - Electric Power industry.
What's Driving the Outperformance?
The stock has an impressive record of positive earnings surprises, as it hasn't missed our earnings consensus estimate in any of the last four quarters. In its last earnings report on February 17, 2026, FirstEnergy reported EPS of $0.53 versus consensus estimate of $0.52.
For the current fiscal year, FirstEnergy is expected to post earnings of $2.73 per share on $15.07 in revenues. This represents a 7.06% change in EPS on a -0.11% change in revenues. For the next fiscal year, the company is expected to earn $2.94 per share on $15.71 in revenues. This represents a year-over-year change of 7.89% and 4.23%, respectively.
Valuation Metrics
While FirstEnergy has moved to its 52-week high over the past few weeks, investors need to be asking, what is next for the company? A key aspect of this question is taking a look at valuation metrics in order to determine if the company has run ahead of itself.
On this front, we can look at the Zacks Style Scores, as these give investors a variety of ways to comb through stocks (beyond looking at the Zacks Rank of a security). The individual style scores for Value, Growth, Momentum and the combined VGM Score run from A through F. Investors should consider the style scores a valuable tool that can help you to pick the most appropriate Zacks Rank stocks based on their individual investment style.
FirstEnergy has a Value Score of C. The stock's Growth and Momentum Scores are C and B, respectively, giving the company a VGM Score of B.
In terms of its value breakdown, the stock currently trades at 19X current fiscal year EPS estimates, which is not in-line with the peer industry average of 19X. On a trailing cash flow basis, the stock currently trades at 9.9X versus its peer group's average of 9.7X. Additionally, the stock has a PEG ratio of 2.49. This isn't enough to put the company in the top echelon of all stocks we cover from a value perspective.
Zacks Rank
We also need to look at the Zacks Rank for the stock, as this supersedes any trend on the style score front. Fortunately, FirstEnergy currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) thanks to favorable earnings estimate revisions from covering analysts.
Since we recommend that investors select stocks carrying Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and Style Scores of A or B, it looks as if FirstEnergy meets the list of requirements. Thus, it seems as though FirstEnergy shares could have potential in the weeks and months to come.
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FirstEnergy Corporation (FE): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).