Canadian Utilities Limited (TSE:CU) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Canadian Utilities Limited (TSE:CU - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$35.57.

Separately, CIBC reduced their price target on Canadian Utilities from C$35.00 to C$34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Sentgraf Enterprises Ltd. sold 50,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$30.77, for a total transaction of C$1,544,530.92. 38.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Canadian Utilities Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CU stock traded up C$0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$30.20. 243,006 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 500,737. The firm has a market capitalization of C$6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.60. Canadian Utilities has a 12-month low of C$28.13 and a 12-month high of C$39.87. The company's 50-day moving average price is C$30.50 and its 200-day moving average price is C$30.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 147.99.

Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported C$0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.69 by C$0.02. Canadian Utilities had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The company had revenue of C$974.00 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Canadian Utilities will post 2.3547141 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.453 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Canadian Utilities's payout ratio is currently 77.68%.

About Canadian Utilities

Canadian Utilities Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity, natural gas, renewables, pipelines, liquids, and retail energy businesses in Canada, Australia, and internationally. It operates through ATCO Energy Systems, ATCO EnPower, and Corporate & Other segments. The ATCO Energy Systems segment provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution services in northern and central east Alberta, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan; and integrated natural gas transmission and distribution services in Alberta, the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan, and Western Australia.