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FirstEnergy (FE) to Report Q3 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store?

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FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) is expected to come up with an earnings beat when it reports third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 25, after the market closes. In the last four quarters, this utility delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 4.74%.

Why a Likely Positive Surprise?

Our proven model shows that FirstEnergy is likely to beat on earnings because it has the right combination of two key ingredients. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.


FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of +0.78%.
 
Zacks Rank: FirstEnergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The combination of FirstEnergy’s Zacks Rank #2 and +0.78% ESP makes us quite confident of an earnings beat in the quarter to be reported.

We caution against Sell-rated stocks (#4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.

Factors at Play

Operating earnings for the third quarter are projected in the range of 65-75 cents.

The company will benefit from improving economic conditions in its service territories, which continues to have a positive impact on customer count. The demand from industrial customers registered an improvement over the last eight quarters. FirstEnergy is expected to notice further increase in demand from its industrial customers in the third quarter.

Moreover, FirstEnergy’s third-quarter transmission earnings are expected to improve due to its Energizing the Future investment program, a higher rate base at its MAIT and ATSI subsidiaries, coupled with higher revenues at JCP&L.

Other Stocks to Consider

In addition to FirstEnergy, investors can also consider the following players from the same industry, which also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP - Free Report) is anticipated to release third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 25. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.46% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Ameren Corporation (AEE - Free Report) is anticipated to report third-quarter 2018 results on Oct 31. It has an Earnings ESP of +8.64% and sports a Zacks Rank #1.

Eversource Energy (ES - Free Report) is anticipated to release third-quarter 2018 results on Nov 2. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.55% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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