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What's in the Offing for FirstEnergy's (FE) Q2 Earnings?

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FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter 2020 results on Jul 23, after market close. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.9%, on average.

Let’s focus on the factors that might have impacted its performance in the second quarter.

Factors to Consider

FirstEnergy’s Transmission & Distribution investments are expected to have aided it to generate stable earnings in the second quarter. Nearly 65% of the company’s distribution revenues come from the residential customer group, which is expected to have supported earnings in the second quarter, thanks to increase in residential load due to coronavirus-induced lockdown and extended stay-at-home orders. The hot summer weather in June might have also boosted residential demand in the second quarter.

However, decline in demand from commercial and industrial customers due to lockdown in the second quarter is expected to have adversely impacted earnings.

Q2 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2020 earnings per share is pegged at 54 cents, which indicates a decline of 11.5% from the year-ago reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter sales is pegged at $2.57 billion, which suggests an increase of 2.14% from the year-ago quarter.

The company expects second-quarter operating earnings in the range of 48-58 cents per share.

What Our Quantitative Model Predicts

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for FirstEnergy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

FirstEnergy Corporation price-eps-surprise | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is +2.30%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, FirstEnergy carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to Consider

Investors can consider the following players from the same industry that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

NextEra Energy (NEE - Free Report) is slated to release second-quarter 2020 results on Jul 24. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.40% and a Zacks Rank #2.

DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2020 results on Jul 28. It has an Earnings ESP of +6.03% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2020 results on Aug 10. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.39% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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