Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $48.56 and last traded at $48.11, with a volume of 321053 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Fortis Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50 day moving average is $45.47 and its 200-day moving average is $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.03%.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC boosted its stake in Fortis by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.7% during 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 in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Company Profile

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.