Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Stock Has Average Target Price of $65.00

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTS. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $54.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.97. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $49.60 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a C$0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Fortis’s payout ratio is 73.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its position in Fortis by 2.1% during the third quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 268,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Fortis by 6.4% in the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Fortis by 32.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 11,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc (NYSE: FTS) is a regulated electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Through its operating utilities, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates a portfolio of utility businesses across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Its regulated operations include electric utilities in several Canadian provinces, U.S.