Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Fortis shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $58.96 and closing near that level at $58.81. The move came on relatively light volume of about 85,205 shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the utility, with six Buy ratings and five Hold ratings for a Moderate Buy consensus. The average price target is $61, though Barclays slightly trimmed its target to $61 from $62.
• Fortis recently beat earnings expectations for the quarter with EPS of $0.72 versus $0.70 expected, although revenue came in below estimates. Institutional ownership remains high at 57.77%, with several major investors increasing their stakes.

Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $58.96 and last traded at $58.8110, with a volume of 85205 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $58.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.72.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Fortis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,966,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,443 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,254,541,000 after acquiring an additional 536,118 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Fortis by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666,481 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $461,748,000 after acquiring an additional 326,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $445,335,000 after purchasing an additional 677,226 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

About Fortis

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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