Fortis (TSE:FTS) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares climbed above the 200-day moving average, trading as high as C$78.02 and last at C$77.93 versus a 200-day MA of C$73.81 (volume 1,348,307), with the 50-day MA at C$77.82.
• Analyst sentiment is mildly positive — the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of C$77.06, while several firms raised targets to C$80–81 and one cut its target to C$70.
• Income and fundamentals: Fortis pays a C$2.56 annual dividend (≈3.3% yield) with a 73% payout ratio, reported quarterly EPS of C$0.90, a P/E of ~22.9 and high leverage (debt/equity ~145.6).

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$73.81 and traded as high as C$78.02. Fortis shares last traded at C$77.93, with a volume of 1,348,307 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Desjardins lifted their price target on shares of Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from C$72.00 to C$70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$77.06.

Fortis Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$77.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$73.81. The company has a market cap of C$39.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.08 billion for the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.78%. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Fortis

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

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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