FirstEnergy scores 40 for management and 52 for moat. The management score rests on a return on invested capital of 4.5% and a gross margin of 54.8% — figures that describe returns closer to the cost of the capital behind them. The balance sheet carries debt at 2.16x equity, which magnifies both the returns above and the risk beneath them.
Three independent anchors set the price worth paying. Growth is modelled at 6.9% a year, the rate measured from the filings. The exit multiple assumed is 13.9x. That produces an intrinsic value of $12.58, a 10-CAP price of $35.23 and a payback time price of $38.57, with the value zone set at the highest of the three, $38.57. Today's price of $43.39 sits 12% above it.
The price is above the value zone and the business scores 52 for moat and 40 for management. Neither test argues for paying up here.
| Price | $43.39 |
| Market cap | $25.1B |
| P/E ratio | 23.1x |
| Return on invested capital | 4.5% |
| Gross margin | 54.8% |
| Debt to equity | 2.16x |
| Free cash flow yield | -3.9% |
| Growth rate used | 6.9% |
| Growth rate measured | 7.0% |
| Exit multiple assumed | 13.9x |
| Company | Moat | Buy price |
| PPL Corporation (PPL) | 39 | $17.71 |
| Eversource Energy (ES) | 51 | $48.48 |
| Edison International (EIX) | 65 | $47.31 |
| WEC Energy Group (WEC) | 41 | $14.57 |
Every number above is built on assumptions that can be changed. In Moatly you can move the growth rate, the exit multiple and the margin of safety and watch every figure recalculate, so you are testing your own view of FirstEnergy rather than accepting ours.