Fortis (TSE:FTS) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Key Points

• Fortis was downgraded by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from “strong-buy” to “hold.” Despite the downgrade, the broader analyst view remains fairly balanced, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Recent analyst updates were mixed: Barclays and National Bank Financial trimmed or raised price targets while TD and Raymond James maintained positive ratings. The average price target for Fortis is now C$79.32.
• Fortis shares opened at C$82.42, near their 52-week high of C$82.80, and the company reported C$0.99 EPS for the latest quarter. An insider also sold a small block of shares, while insiders own only 0.04% of the stock.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Fortis from C$84.00 to C$83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD lifted their target price on Fortis from C$83.00 to C$84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$75.00 to C$82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Fortis from C$78.50 to C$80.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortis presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of C$79.32.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:FTS opened at C$82.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of C$41.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$64.42 and a 52 week high of C$82.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$79.15 and a 200 day moving average of C$77.02.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.99 EPS for the quarter. Fortis had a net margin of 14.75% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company had revenue of C$3.40 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Fortis will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortis news, insider James Reid sold 421 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$79.05, for a total transaction of C$33,280.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$2,472,921.15. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders purchased 572 shares of company stock valued at $45,909 over the last quarter. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Fortis

Fortis owns and operates 10 utility transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States, serving more than 3.4 million electricity and gas customers. The company has smaller stakes in electricity generation and several Caribbean utilities. ITC operates electric transmission in seven U.S. states, with more than 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in operation serving a peak load in excess of 23 gigawatts.

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