Jefferies Upgrades FirstEnergy To Hold

According to Jefferies, FirstEnergy FE rating is upgraded to Hold from Underperform. Jefferies reported that it is upgrading FE to Hold because it expects the company will remain investment grade following Moody's rating review. “Additionally, FE will generate significant cash from asset sales and bonus depreciation, which can be used to pay down debt and avoid equity issuance. Assuming only 50% of unregulated merger savings and all projected utility and corporate savings, we estimate FE should be able to earn above $3.00 per share in 2014.” FirstEnergy closed yesterday at $38.11.