Fortis (TSE:FTS) Director Buys C$22,954.08 in Stock

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Director Julie Dobson purchased 291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$78.88 per share, with a total value of C$22,954.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,404 shares in the company, valued at C$189,627.52. This trade represents a 13.77% increase in their position.

Fortis Trading Down 0.5%

TSE:FTS traded down C$0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$81.79. 146,238 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,686,979. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.23. Fortis Inc. has a 52 week low of C$63.54 and a 52 week high of C$82.67. The stock has a market capitalization of C$41.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$78.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$76.22.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.75%.The business had revenue of C$3.40 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Fortis from C$75.00 to C$82.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Fortis from C$84.00 to C$83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD increased their price objective on Fortis from C$83.00 to C$84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Fortis from C$78.50 to C$80.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$79.32.

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.