Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

FTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd increased its holdings in Fortis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 13,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.3% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 2.8% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. boosted its position in Fortis by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Up 1.4%

FTS stock opened at $57.55 on Monday. Fortis has a 52 week low of $43.19 and a 52 week high of $57.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.49.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 76.64%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company’s core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.