Fortis (FTS) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 19th

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of 0.64 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th.

Fortis has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Fortis has a dividend payout ratio of 71.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Fortis to earn $2.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 66.2%.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $56.68 on Monday. Fortis has a 12 month low of $48.64 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.51.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company’s core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.