Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.17 and last traded at $52.86, with a volume of 535608 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.69.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). Fortis had a return on equity of 7.05% and a net margin of 14.18%.The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. On average, analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 75.83%.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at about $249,000. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Fortis by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 101,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,955,000 after purchasing an additional 236,347 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Fortis by 172.5% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 20,889 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Fortis by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,614,000 after buying an additional 345,633 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.