Fortis (TSE:FTS) Given New C$58.50 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its target price lifted by BMO Capital Markets from C$58.00 to C$58.50 in a report released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Fortis from C$56.00 to C$57.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their target price on Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Fortis from C$60.00 to C$56.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$62.00 to C$59.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$56.88.

Fortis Trading Up 0.4 %

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

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.72. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of C$2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$3.22 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortis will post 3.2119367 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors 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 yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 76.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian Slocum acquired 1,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$39.18 per share, with a total value of C$73,971.65. In other news, Director Margarita Dilley bought 960 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of C$38.57 per share, with a total value of C$37,027.20. Also, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$39.18 per share, with a total value of C$73,971.65. Insiders have acquired a total of 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.