Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Canadian Utilities Limited (TSE:CU) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from C$35.50 to C$37.00. The company traded as high as C$35.05 and last traded at C$34.92, with a volume of 24402 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$34.55.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$37.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their price objective on Canadian Utilities from C$34.00 to C$35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$36.17.

Canadian Utilities Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 149.94, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$31.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$31.16.

Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported C$0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.42 by C$0.01. Canadian Utilities had a net margin of 16.43% and a return on equity of 8.72%. The business had revenue of C$860.00 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Canadian Utilities Limited will post 2.4100069 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.453 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 8th. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.25%. Canadian Utilities’s payout ratio is 91.41%.

Canadian Utilities Company Profile

Canadian Utilities Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity, natural gas, renewables, pipelines, liquids, and retail energy businesses in Canada, Australia, and internationally. It operates through ATCO Energy Systems, ATCO EnPower, and Corporate & Other segments. The ATCO Energy Systems segment provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution services in northern and central east Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan; and integrated natural gas transmission and distribution services in Alberta, the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan, and Western Australia.