Hydro One (TSE:H) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Hydro One Limited (TSE:H) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$48.20 and last traded at C$47.89, with a volume of 48384 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$47.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Hydro One from C$45.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Hydro One from C$43.00 to C$46.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Hydro One from C$45.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$45.43.

Hydro One Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$44.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$45.15. The company has a market cap of C$29.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.53, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Hydro One Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.3142 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Hydro One’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Hydro One’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Stacey Mowbray purchased 700 shares of Hydro One stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$44.03 per share, for a total transaction of C$30,818.20. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 700 shares in the company, valued at C$30,818.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. 47.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hydro One Company Profile

Hydro One operates regulated transmission and distribution assets in Ontario. The area’s largest electricity provider serves nearly 1.5 million customers. Transmission accounts for roughly 60% of the company’s rate base, with distribution accounting for the remainder. Hydro One operates a small telecom business, Acronym Solutions, with annual revenue contributing less than 1% to consolidated results.