FirstEnergy Corp. (FE), headquartered in Akron, Ohio, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity as well as explores, produces, and distributes natural gas. Valued at $27.2 billion by market cap, the company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities, and provides energy management and other energy related services.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and FE perfectly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the utilities - regulated electric industry. FirstEnergy's diversified presence in regulated and competitive markets balances its revenue streams.
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Despite its notable strength, FE slipped 10.1% from its 52-week high of $52.34, achieved on Apr. 9. Over the past three months, FE stock has declined 7.5%, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrials Average’s ($DOWI) 9.7% gains during the same time frame.
www.barchart.comShares of FE rose 5.1% on a YTD basis and climbed 15.6% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming DOWI’s YTD gains of 6.5% and 19.2% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bearish trend, FE has been trading below its 50-day moving average since mid-April. However, the stock is trading above its 200-day moving average recently.
www.barchart.comOn Apr. 28, FE shares closed up marginally after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $0.72 matched Wall Street expectations. The company’s revenue was $4.2 billion, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of $3.9 billion. FE expects full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $2.62 to $2.82.
In the competitive arena of utilities - regulated electric, Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) has taken the lead over FE, showing resilience with a 6.6% gain on a YTD basis, but lagged behind the stock with a 6.6% uptick over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on FE’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 17 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $52.67 suggests a potential upside of 12% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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