Fortis (TSE:FTS) Given New C$57.00 Price Target at CIBC

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its price objective upped by CIBC from C$56.00 to C$57.00 in a research report released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBC currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FTS. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Fortis from C$62.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from C$60.00 to C$56.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of C$56.88.

Fortis Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of TSE FTS traded up C$0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$54.59. The stock had a trading volume of 821,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,425. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$53.16 and its 200-day moving average is C$54.17. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$49.82 and a 52 week high of C$62.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76. The company has a market cap of C$26.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$0.72. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 13.66%. The business had revenue of C$2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$3.22 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis will post 3.2119367 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Margarita Dilley bought 960 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$38.57 per share, with a total value of C$37,027.20. In other news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Also, Director Margarita Dilley bought 960 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$38.57 per share, with a total value of C$37,027.20. Insiders acquired a total of 2,851 shares of company stock valued at $111,115 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

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.