Fortis (TSE:FTS) Price Target Raised to C$56.00 at National Bankshares

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its price objective upped by National Bankshares from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. National Bankshares currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on FTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Fortis from C$52.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Fortis from C$58.50 to C$59.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fortis from C$61.00 to C$62.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James upped their target price on Fortis from C$59.00 to C$61.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Fortis from C$56.00 to C$59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$58.17.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of FTS traded up C$0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching C$58.58. 148,221 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,593,897. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.89. The stock has a market capitalization of C$28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.18. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of C$49.82 and a fifty-two week high of C$58.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$54.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$53.94.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported C$0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.89 by C$0.04. The company had revenue of C$3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$3.34 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.38% and a net margin of 14.11%. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortis will post 3.2075145 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 75.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer James Reid bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$52.37 per share, with a total value of C$36,659.00. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.