Fortis (TSE:FTS) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Fortis shares moved above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as C$82.43 versus a 200-day average of C$76.98, while the stock was up about 2% on the day.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the utility, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$79.32 after several firms recently raised their targets.
• The company continues to offer a solid dividend, paying a quarterly C$0.64 per share for an annualized yield of about 3.1%, even as its recent earnings showed C$0.99 EPS and C$3.40 billion in revenue.

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$76.98 and traded as high as C$82.43. Fortis shares last traded at C$82.43, with a volume of 1,137,147 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FTS. TD upped their price target on Fortis from C$83.00 to C$84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Fortis from C$78.50 to C$80.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortis from C$84.00 to C$83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial upped their target price on Fortis from C$75.00 to C$82.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given 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$79.32.

Fortis Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$79.03 and a 200-day moving average price of C$76.98. The company has a market capitalization of C$41.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.41.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$3.40 billion during the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.75%. Research analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Fortis's payout ratio is 74.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortis news, insider James Reid sold 421 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$79.05, for a total value of C$33,280.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,283 shares in the company, valued at C$2,472,921.15. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 572 shares of company stock valued at $45,909. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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