Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.17 and last traded at $52.86, with a volume of 535608 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday. National Bankshares reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 0.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.69 and a 200 day moving average of $50.62.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). Fortis had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 7.05%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis’s payout ratio is 75.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,593,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,196,727,000 after acquiring an additional 568,326 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Fortis by 0.4% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $686,518,000 after purchasing an additional 57,447 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 3.7% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 5.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,614,000 after buying an additional 345,633 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter valued at $291,400,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.