Brokerages Set Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Price Target at C$57.54

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$57.54.

Several research firms recently issued reports on FTS. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$58.00 to C$59.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$57.00 to C$60.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at Fortis

In other news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. In related news, Director Margarita Dilley purchased 960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$38.57 per share, for a total transaction of C$37,027.20. Also, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Insiders have bought 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of FTS opened at C$52.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$53.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$54.32. The firm has a market capitalization of C$25.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.68. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$49.82 and a 52 week high of C$62.00.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.72. The business had revenue of C$2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$3.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.41%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 3.2119403 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.13%.

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.