Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on FTS. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Fortis Price Performance

Fortis stock opened at $57.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.43 and its 200 day moving average is $55.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21 and a beta of 0.43. Fortis has a one year low of $46.55 and a one year high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,760,000 after acquiring an additional 90,776 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 148.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Fortis by 4.4% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Company Profile

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.