Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Receives C$57.54 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$57.54.

A number of analysts recently commented on FTS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. National Bankshares boosted their target price on Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. CIBC boosted their target price on Fortis from C$58.00 to C$59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Fortis from C$57.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th.

Insider Activity at Fortis

In related news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. In other Fortis news, Director Brian Slocum acquired 1,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. Also, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total value of C$37,706.21. Insiders purchased 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115 in the last ninety days. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortis Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of TSE:FTS traded down C$0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting C$51.84. 994,438 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,520,324. The stock has a market cap of C$25.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76. Fortis has a 12-month low of C$49.82 and a 12-month high of C$62.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$53.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$54.16.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$0.72. The company had revenue of C$2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of C$3.22 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 13.66%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 3.2119367 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.13%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.