Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.3333.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $54.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.47. Fortis has a 12 month low of $48.69 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $442,633,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fortis during the fourth quarter worth about $335,980,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Fortis during the second quarter worth about $334,727,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Fortis during the second quarter worth about $311,146,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Fortis during the second quarter worth about $257,370,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc is a Canadian investor-owned utility company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas distribution systems, and power generation assets. Its businesses include FortisBC in British Columbia, Newfoundland Power and Maritime Electric in Atlantic Canada, as well as utilities in the United States, including Central Hudson, UNS Energy and ITC.