Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$75.65.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FTS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Fortis from C$72.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Fortis from C$75.50 to C$78.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortis

In related news, insider Karen J. Gosse sold 8,412 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$78.18, for a total transaction of C$657,650.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 52,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,083,185.04. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Fortis Stock Up 1.0%

TSE FTS opened at C$79.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$74.90 and its 200-day moving average price is C$72.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.62. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$61.32 and a 52 week high of C$80.10. The company has a market capitalization of C$40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 73.09%.

About Fortis

Fortis owns and operates 10 utility transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States, serving more than 3.4 million electricity and gas customers. The company has smaller stakes in electricity generation and several Caribbean utilities. ITC operates electric transmission in seven U.S. states, with more than 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in operation serving a peak load in excess of 23 gigawatts.