Fortis (TSE:FTS) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's Why

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$63.53 and traded as high as C$64.97. Fortis shares last traded at C$64.76, with a volume of 1,576,708 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$58.00 to C$63.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$69.00 to C$62.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$66.00 to C$70.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Fortis from C$67.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on Fortis from C$68.00 to C$69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of C$64.25.

Fortis Stock Up 0.3%

The stock's fifty day moving average is C$66.13 and its 200 day moving average is C$63.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31. The company has a market capitalization of C$32.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st were issued a $0.615 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.02%.

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.