Fortis (TSE:FTS) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares of Fortis hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as C$79.05 (last C$78.51) with about 1.74 million shares changing hands during mid-day trading.
• Several analysts raised price targets (e.g., Raymond James to C$78.50, Desjardins to C$81.00, Scotiabank to C$80.00), leaving a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$75.65.
• Fortis pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.64 (annualized C$2.56) for a 3.3% yield

Shares of Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$79.05 and last traded at C$78.51, with a volume of 1740506 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$78.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Fortis from C$75.50 to C$78.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Desjardins upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial lifted their target price on Fortis from C$68.00 to C$72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce increased their price target on Fortis from C$75.00 to C$76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$75.65.

Fortis Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is C$74.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$71.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.62.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis's payout ratio is currently 73.09%.

Insider Activity at Fortis

In related news, insider Karen J. Gosse sold 8,412 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 52,228 shares in the company, valued at C$4,083,185.04. This represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 0.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fortis Company Profile

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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