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FirstEnergy (FE) to Post Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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FirstEnergy Corp. (FE - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2019 results on Apr 23, after market close. In the last four quarters, this utility player delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 4.10%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to the upcoming results.

Here's What Could Drive Results

FirstEnergy expects to benefit from the FE Tomorrow effort, which will lower costs and drive earnings in the quarter. In addition, the debt-reduction initiatives will show in the form of lower capital servicing costs. Backed by these, FirstEnergy projects first-quarter 2019 earnings in the range of 60-70 cents.

However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings is pegged at 63 cents, which reflects a decline of 5.97% on a year-over-year basis.

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

 

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not show that FirstEnergy is likely to beat earnings this quarter as it does not possess the key components. For a beat, a stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of -9.52%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: FirstEnergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Here are a few companies from the industry that you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

Xcel Energy Inc (XEL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.32% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release first-quarter 2019 results on Apr 25.

NextEra Energy, Inc (NEE - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.95% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to report first-quarter 2019 results on Apr 23.

Dominion Energy Inc (D - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.78% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release first-quarter 2019 results on May 3.

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