Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.2% in the second quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 159,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,728 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortis during the first quarter worth $100,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Fortis by 103.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 48,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortis by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:FTS traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $57.39. The stock had a trading volume of 308,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,289. The business’s fifty day moving average is $56.45 and its 200 day moving average is $55.54. The company has a market cap of $29.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Fortis has a 52 week low of $46.66 and a 52 week high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Fortis

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.