Here's Why You Should Add FirstEnergy (FE) To Your Portfolio

Earnings estimates for FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE) have been revised upward in the past 30 days, reflecting analysts’ optimism on the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 and 2020 earnings have inched up 0.4% and 0.8% to $2.56 and $2.45 per share, respectively, during the said period.

FirstEnergy through its subsidiaries generates, transmits and distributes electricity in the United States.

Let’s focus on the factors that make FirstEnergy an appropriate investment option at the moment.

Price Movement

In the past 12 months, FirstEnergy’s shares have gained 18.6% compared with the industry’s rise of 14.4%.

Earnings & Surprise History

FirstEnergy delivered fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 50 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents by 4.17%. The company’s average four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 4.10%.

Return on Equity (ROE)

FirstEnergy has an ROE of 21.13% higher than the industry average of 9.18% and Zacks S&P 500 composites’ 17.83%. This indicates the company’s efficiency in utilizing shareholders’ funds.

Dividend Yield

Currently, the company has a dividend yield of 3.69% compared with the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s 1.96% and the industry’s 2.89%.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

FirstEnergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE:NEE) , The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) and IDACORP (NYSE:IDA) , each holding a Zacks Rank of 2.

NextEra Energy pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 2.52% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 7.70%

The Southern Company pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 7.85% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 4.50%

IDACORP pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 9.60% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 2.60%.

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