Hydro One (TSE:H) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Moderate Sell

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hydro One (TSE:H) from a hold rating to a moderate sell rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Hydro One from C$56.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Scotia boosted their target price on shares of Hydro One from C$53.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. TD boosted their target price on shares of Hydro One from C$57.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Hydro One from C$55.00 to C$58.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Hydro One from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hydro One currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$57.09.

Hydro One Price Performance

Shares of TSE:H opened at C$55.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of C$33.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is C$58.17 and its 200-day moving average is C$56.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 149.17, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.54. Hydro One has a 52 week low of C$47.54 and a 52 week high of C$60.46.

Hydro One (TSE:H) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported C$0.65 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$1.22 billion for the quarter. Hydro One had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Sell-side analysts predict that Hydro One will post 2.0572195 earnings per share for the current year.

Hydro One Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.3531 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This is a boost from Hydro One’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.41 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hydro One’s payout ratio is presently 58.44%.

About Hydro One

Hydro One operates regulated transmission and distribution assets in Ontario. The area’s largest electricity provider serves nearly 1.5 million customers. Transmission accounts for roughly 60% of the company’s rate base, with distribution accounting for the remainder. Hydro One operates a small telecom business, Acronym Solutions, with annual revenue contributing less than 1% to consolidated results. The province of Ontario holds an approximate 47% common equity stake.