Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$60.89.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America set a C$60.00 price target on shares of Fortis and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fortis from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$63.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortis

In other Fortis news, Director Gary Joseph Smith sold 21,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$61.45, for a total value of C$1,334,543.75. Also, Senior Officer Keri Linda Glitch bought 450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$61.41 per share, for a total transaction of C$27,634.59. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$27,634.59. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at C$58.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of C$29.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$61.04 and a 200 day moving average of C$59.29. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$51.02 and a 52 week high of C$63.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.59.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.12%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona’s Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.