Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$57.54.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$57.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 12th.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at C$51.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of C$49.82 and a fifty-two week high of C$62.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$53.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$54.15. The company has a market cap of C$25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.72. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of C$2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$3.22 billion. Analysts expect that Fortis will post 3.2119367 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. In other Fortis news, Director Margarita Dilley bought 960 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$38.57 per share, with a total value of C$37,027.20. Also, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Insiders bought 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115 in the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.