Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FTS. Barclays cut their price target on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis in the first quarter valued at $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Fortis by 19.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,760,000 after acquiring an additional 90,776 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fortis by 148.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Fortis stock opened at $56.52 on Thursday. Fortis has a 12-month low of $48.64 and a 12-month high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $57.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 76.52%.

About Fortis

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.