Insider Buying: Fortis (TSE:FTS) Director Buys 185 Shares of Stock

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Director Tracey Colleen Ball bought 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$69.51 per share, for a total transaction of C$12,859.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$119,904.75. The trade was a 12.01% increase in their position.

Fortis Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of TSE FTS opened at C$70.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31. The stock has a market capitalization of C$35.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$68.86 and a 200-day moving average of C$66.69. Fortis Inc. has a 52-week low of C$57.98 and a 52-week high of C$71.02.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.615 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 71.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on FTS shares. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Fortis from C$69.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$70.00 to C$72.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Fortis from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$70.89.

About Fortis

Fortis owns and operates 10 utility transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States, serving more than 3.4 million electricity and gas customers. The company has smaller stakes in electricity generation and several Caribbean utilities. ITC operates electric transmission in seven U.S.