UBS maintained a Neutral rating on FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), and cut the price target to $32.00 (from $33.00), as the timeline of the Ohio ESP is now pointing towards early 2016. The long awaited Analyst Day continues to hinge upon the timeline of the Ohio ESP proceeding as management is seemingly reluctant to provide updates on any long-term earnings or spending until it has visibility on if/how much equity it will need to support growth.

Analyst Julien Smith commented, "FE tempered expectations for the timeline of the Ohio ESP now pointing towards early 2016. This is in contrast to investor and AEP’s expectations that resolution could be achieved by year-end. In our recent conversations with key stakeholders the negotiations have increased but the parties are seemingly still far apart on key issues and we concur that resolution for either FE or AEP by year-end is optimistic."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on FirstEnergy Corp. click here. For more ratings news on FirstEnergy Corp. click here.

Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. closed at $31.20 yesterday.