Analysts Set Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Target Price at $72.00

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $51.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.35 and a 200-day moving average of $49.83. The company has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $52.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 7.05%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 75.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,593,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,196,727,000 after purchasing an additional 568,326 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Fortis by 0.4% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $686,518,000 after buying an additional 57,447 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,748,000 after acquiring an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 5.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $296,614,000 after purchasing an additional 345,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter valued at about $291,400,000. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Company Profile

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.