StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on FTS. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Fortis from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Fortis from C$57.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial lifted their price target on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $57.86.

Fortis Stock Up 1.2 %

FTS opened at $42.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.42. Fortis has a one year low of $34.76 and a one year high of $51.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. Fortis had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 12.20%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4211 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.34%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC bought a new position in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in Fortis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Fortis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 49.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Fortis

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Fortis, Inc is an energy delivery company, which engages in the provision of energy generation and distribution. It operates through the Regulated Utilities and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated Utilities segment is composed of ITC, which contains mainly of the electric transmission operations of the ITC regulated operating subsidiaries, UNS Energy that offers vertically integrated utility services, Central Hudson, which provides regulated electric and gas T&D utility services, FortisBC Energy distributes natural gas in British Columbia, FortisAlberta, which involves in the ownership and operation of regulated electricity distribution facilities, FortisBC Electric includes the ownership of hydroelectric generating plants, high voltage transmission lines, and a large network of distribution assets, and Other Electric that contains utilities in the eastern Canada and Caribbean.