Fortis (TSE:FTS) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Fortis Inc. shares have surpassed their 200-day moving average, trading as high as C$68.10, with its latest price at C$68.07.
• Several analysts have upgraded Fortis, with Cibc World Mkts raising the rating to "strong-buy" and TD Securities increasing the price target to C$77.00.
• Fortis recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.615 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.6% with a payout ratio of 71.62%.

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$66.14 and traded as high as C$68.10. Fortis shares last traded at C$68.07, with a volume of 906,809 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Fortis from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a report on Monday. TD Securities raised their target price on Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Desjardins raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$71.00 to C$76.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$69.80.

Fortis Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$67.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$66.26. The stock has a market cap of C$34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.615 per share. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's payout ratio is currently 71.62%.

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.