Fortis (TSE:FTS) Given New C$56.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its price objective reduced by Scotiabank from C$60.00 to C$56.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on FTS. 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 report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. National Bankshares raised their price target on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price target on shares of Fortis from C$59.00 to C$56.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$57.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of TSE FTS opened at C$53.65 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$53.08 and its 200 day moving average price is C$54.18. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$49.82 and a 52 week high of C$62.00. The stock has a market cap of C$26.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of C$3.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.41%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 3.2119367 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued 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 4.40%. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 76.13%.

Insider Activity at Fortis

In related news, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$39.18 per share, with a total value of C$73,971.65. In other news, Director Margarita Dilley acquired 960 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$38.57 per share, for a total transaction of C$37,027.20. Also, Director Brian Slocum acquired 1,888 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.