Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.33.

FTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $53.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a 52-week low of $49.42 and a 52-week high of $59.40.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a C$0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Addison Capital Co lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.9% in the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 32,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Fortis by 10.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 8,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 7,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc is a Canadian investor-owned utility company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas distribution systems, and power generation assets. Its businesses include FortisBC in British Columbia, Newfoundland Power and Maritime Electric in Atlantic Canada, as well as utilities in the United States, including Central Hudson, UNS Energy and ITC.