Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given “Buy (B)” Rating at Weiss Ratings

Fortis (NYSE:FTS)‘s stock had its “buy (b)” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FTS. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 4th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $40.32 and a fifty-two week high of $51.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Fortis by 9.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 9.3% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 35.6% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Fortis by 26.3% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fortis by 171.7% during the second quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 119,084 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,674,000 after purchasing an additional 75,259 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.