Fortis (TSE:FTS) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Fortis Inc. shares have crossed above their 200-day moving average, with a current trading price of C$70.61, indicating potential upward momentum.
• A variety of analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for Fortis, with Raymond James and Royal Bank of Canada both raising their targets to C$72.00.
• Fortis announced a quarterly dividend of $0.615 per share, reflecting a 3.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 19th.

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$65.52 and traded as high as C$70.86. Fortis shares last traded at C$70.61, with a volume of 2,459,922 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$66.00 to C$70.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortis from C$69.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$71.00 to C$76.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortis has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$68.82.

Fortis Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$66.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$65.68.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.615 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 73.02%.

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.