Fortis (TSE:FTS) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Fortis's stock climbed above its 200‑day moving average (200‑day MA C$74.14), trading as high as C$77.36 and last at C$76.80, a move that could signal short‑term bullish momentum.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but mildly positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of C$77.06; several banks raised targets to the C$78.50–C$81.00 range while ratings range from Strong Buy to Hold.
• Fortis pays a quarterly dividend of C$0.64 (annualized C$2.56) for a 3.3% yield, but carries high leverage (debt‑to‑equity 145.62) and trades at a P/E of 22.59; recent quarter showed C$0.90 EPS on C$3.08B revenue.

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$74.14 and traded as high as C$77.36. Fortis shares last traded at C$76.80, with a volume of 2,969,375 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on FTS shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Fortis from C$72.00 to C$70.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Fortis from C$75.50 to C$78.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Desjardins upped their price objective on Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Fortis from C$79.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$77.06.

Fortis Stock Down 0.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$77.98 and a 200 day moving average price of C$74.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.62, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of C$39.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.45.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported C$0.90 EPS for the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.78%.The company had revenue of C$3.08 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.09%.

Insider Activity at Fortis

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

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. states, with more than 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in operation serving a peak load in excess of 23 gigawatts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.