Fortis (TSE:FTS) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Fortis hit a new 52-week high of C$80.34 (last C$79.86) as several analysts raised price targets; the stock's consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of C$75.65.
• The company has a market cap of C$40.61 billion and a P/E of 23.54, reported Q earnings of C$0.90 on C$3.08 billion revenue, and pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.64 (annualized C$2.56) for a 3.2% yield with a 73% payout ratio.
• Insider Karen J. Gosse sold 8,412 shares at about C$78.18 (≈C$657,650), cutting her stake by 13.87%; insiders now own 0.04% of the company.

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as C$80.34 and last traded at C$79.86, with a volume of 54738 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$79.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. National Bank Financial lifted their price target on Fortis from C$68.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$75.50 to C$78.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$75.65.

Fortis Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$40.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is C$74.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$72.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.62.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 earnings per share for the quarter. Fortis had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The firm had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen J. Gosse sold 8,412 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$78.18, for a total value of C$657,650.16. Following the transaction, the insider owned 52,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,083,185.04. The trade was a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

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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