12:55 AM EDT, 04/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We raise our 12-month target $1 to $42, 15.7x our 2024 adjusted EPS estimate (up by $0.01 to $2.69; we up our 2025 EPS estimate $0.01 to $2.86), a small discount to peers based modestly slower near-term EPS growth potential, in our view, but in line with FE's three-and-five-year historical averages. FE's earned ROE has recently lagged peers, though we are encouraged by more competitive authorized return on equity (ROE) results in various service territories. Q1 EPS of $0.55 vs. $0.60 was $0.01 above consensus. Weather-normalized residential electric sales fell 1.5% Y/Y in the quarter, led by industrial (+3.1% ) and offset by residential (-3.5%) and commercial (-4.6%). During the quarter, FE closed the sale of a 30% stake in FET (electric transmission subsidiary) to Brookfield, supporting FE's repayment of $2.3B in debt as it works to improve the balance sheet. Shares recently yielded 4.4%, above the 4.2% peer median.