Fortis (TSE:FTS) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$74.83 and traded as high as C$78.42. Fortis shares last traded at C$78.42, with a volume of 402,750 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FTS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Fortis from C$74.00 to C$77.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Fortis from C$72.00 to C$70.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortis from C$84.00 to C$83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Fortis from C$74.00 to C$75.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on Fortis from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$78.68.

Fortis Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a market cap of C$39.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 145.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of C$77.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$74.88.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.99 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.40 billion for the quarter. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 14.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 3.3419913 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.04%.

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. states, with more than 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines in operation serving a peak load in excess of 23 gigawatts.