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What's in the Offing for FirstEnergy's (FE) Q4 Earnings?

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FirstEnergy Corporation (FE - Free Report) is expected to release fourth-quarter 2020 results soon. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.59%, on average.

Let’s focus on the factors that might have impacted its December-quarter performance.

Factors to Consider

With economic operations gradually reopening, FirstEnergy is likely to have benefited from improving demand fromCommercial and Industrial group. In addition, steady demand from residential space is likely to have aided its fourth-quarter earnings.

Also, the company made efforts to upgrade its transmission lines and keep its infrastructure ready for the winter storms.These initiatives were undertaken to supply uninterrupted power, thereby providing cushion to the upcoming results. However, many regions during the quarter witnessed power cuts and disruptions, which might have negatively impacted its earnings.

FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise FirstEnergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

FirstEnergy Corporation price-eps-surprise | FirstEnergy Corporation Quote

Q4 Expectations

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2020 earnings per share is pegged at 50 cents, which indicates a 9.09% decline from the year-ago period’s reported figure. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter sales stands at $2.82 billion, suggesting growth of 5.50% from the year-ago period’s reported number.

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 but that is not the case here as elaborated below. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Earnings ESP: FirstEnergy has an Earnings ESP of-1.01%. 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 #3.

Stocks to Consider

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

CMS Energy (CMS - Free Report) is set to release fourth-quarter 2020 results on Feb 4. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.82% and is Zacks #3 Ranked, presently.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP - Free Report) is set to release fourth-quarter 2020 results on Feb 25. It has an Earnings ESP of +11.11% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

PG&E Corporation (PCG - Free Report) is set to release fourth-quarter 2020 results on Feb 25. It has an Earnings ESP of +10.53% and is a #3 Ranked player.

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