Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Fortis has a consensus “Hold” rating from eight analysts: five recommend holding the stock and three recommend buying it. The average 12-month price target is $66.33.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly above the $0.55 analyst consensus, but revenue of $1.67 billion fell short of the $1.83 billion estimate.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.64, equivalent to an annualized $2.56 dividend and a 4.7% yield; institutional investors own 57.77% of outstanding shares.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.3333.

FTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 87.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $54.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a 12-month low of $48.69 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.47. The company has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.68%.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc is a Canadian investor-owned utility company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas distribution systems, and power generation assets. Its businesses include FortisBC in British Columbia, Newfoundland Power and Maritime Electric in Atlantic Canada, as well as utilities in the United States, including Central Hudson, UNS Energy and ITC.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.