Fortis (TSE:FTS) Price Target Raised to C$78.50 at Raymond James Financial

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its price objective upped by Raymond James Financial from C$75.50 to C$78.50 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James Financial currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. National Bank Financial boosted their price target on Fortis from C$68.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upped their target price on Fortis from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank raised their price target 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 upped 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 research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$75.65.

Fortis Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of FTS opened at C$77.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$71.89 and a 200-day moving average price of C$70.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31. The firm has a market capitalization of C$39.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.35. Fortis has a 12-month low of C$60.94 and a 12-month high of C$77.59.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter. Fortis had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 7.48%. Equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.21%.

Fortis News Summary

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

About Fortis

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.