Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Hits New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Key Points

• Fortis reached a new 52-week high of $50.55 during trading, boosting its stock from a previous close of $48.97, with a trading volume of 151,712 shares.
• Analysts have influenced Fortis' stock outlook, with upgrades from Royal Bank Of Canada (price target raised to $72.00) and CIBC, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold."
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.70, beating expectations, but revenue of $2.31 billion fell short of analysts’ estimates of $3.42 billion.

Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $50.55 and last traded at $50.42, with a volume of 151712 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.97.

The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.4448 dividend. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Fortis's payout ratio is 73.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC raised Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortis during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Fortis by 286.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 111.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $47.84 and its 200 day moving average is $46.34.

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.