Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Fortis (NYSE:FTSGet Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several research firms have weighed in on FTS. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Desjardins upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Fortis

Fortis Trading Down 0.1%

Fortis stock opened at $50.49 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.69. The company has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis has a 52-week low of $40.32 and a 52-week high of $51.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Fortis (NYSE:FTSGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at $1,751,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Fortis by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at $672,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in Fortis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 17,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

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