Fortis (TSE:FTS) Price Target Raised to C$81.00

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its price objective raised by Desjardins from C$79.00 to C$81.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FTS. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Fortis from C$72.00 to C$70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$75.50 to C$78.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$75.65.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS opened at C$77.42 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$71.89 and a 200-day moving average of C$70.94. The company has a market cap of C$39.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Fortis has a one year low of C$60.94 and a one year high of C$77.59.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 EPS for the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 14.53%.The firm had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 3.3419913 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 73.09%.

Key Stories Impacting Fortis

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat — Fortis reported C$0.90 EPS and C$3.08B revenue; commentary pointed to strong regulated utility growth and asset expansion. Fortis beats Q4 earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared — C$0.64 per share (annualized yield ~3.3%); ex-dividend date Feb 17, record date Mar 1. Income investors may favor the stock on the payout stability.
• Positive Sentiment: Desjardins raised its target to C$81 and kept a “buy” rating (largest upside among recent raises). BayStreet.CA
• Positive Sentiment: Raymond James raised its target to C$78.50 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling continued bullish analyst view. BayStreet.CA TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC and Scotiabank raised targets to C$80 (both keep “sector perform”) — modest upside but not full upgrades. BayStreet.CA
• Negative Sentiment: BMO lifted its target to C$77 and maintains a “market perform” rating — the target sits slightly below the recent price, implying limited upside/neutral-to-slightly-negative near term. BayStreet.CA

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis owns and operates 10 utility transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States, serving more than 3.4 million electricity and gas customers. The company has smaller stakes in electricity generation and several Caribbean utilities. ITC operates electric transmission in seven U.S. states, with more than 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in operation serving a peak load in excess of 23 gigawatts.