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

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on FTS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at $3,348,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Fortis by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fortis by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 49,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,314,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $68,263,000 after buying an additional 20,313 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE:FTS opened at $55.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.49. Fortis has a twelve month low of $43.28 and a twelve month high of $58.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.64%.

About Fortis

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.