Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

Several research firms recently issued reports on FTS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Desjardins initiated coverage on Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $47.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Fortis has a 1 year low of $38.50 and a 1 year high of $50.06.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 5.7% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fortis

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.