Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday. The stock traded as high as $59.40 and last traded at $59.4060, with a volume of 414,656 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $58.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Fortis from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Fortis Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.86.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,451,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $7,259,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,112,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Fortis by 37.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 333,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,590,000 after acquiring an additional 91,219 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 39.0% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,720,000 after acquiring an additional 305,450 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc is a Canadian utility holding company that owns and operates regulated electric and natural gas utilities. Its businesses are primarily focused on the transmission and distribution of electricity, natural gas distribution, and related energy infrastructure.

Through its portfolio of utility subsidiaries, Fortis serves customers across Canada and the United States, with additional operations in the Caribbean. Its businesses include electric utilities, natural gas utilities, and electric transmission assets, providing essential energy services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

Fortis has expanded from its Canadian utility origins through acquisitions and investments in regulated infrastructure.