Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Fortis has a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from 10 analysts (five buys, five holds) with an average 1-year target price of $72.00.
• The company beat on quarterly EPS ($0.65 vs. $0.62 expected) but missed revenue estimates ($2.13B vs. $2.54B), and analysts forecast 2.66 EPS for the current year.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 ($2.56 annualized) with a yield of 4.5%, ex-dividend date May 15 and payable June 1, and a payout ratio of 77.05%.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $72.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortis from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Fortis Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $56.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Fortis has a 52-week low of $45.87 and a 52-week high of $58.78. The business's 50 day moving average is $56.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.49.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Fortis's payout ratio is 77.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the first quarter valued at about $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 19.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,760,000 after buying an additional 90,776 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 148.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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