Seaport downgrades FirstEnergy to Neutral on Ohio uncertainty

Seaport Research downgraded FirstEnergy (FE) to Neutral from Buy without a price target The electric security plan review concurrent with the distribution rate case might benefit FirstEnergy in the long-term, but it increases the regulatory risk in Ohio for the next year or so, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says rising capacity and energy prices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland won’t help to alleviate the Ohio risk, and that it doesn’t see rate-based generation in either of the states.