Fortis (TSE:FTS) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$62.71 and last traded at C$62.45, with a volume of 37564 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$62.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$53.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Fortis to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortis from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Fortis from C$59.00 to C$61.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$60.33.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$30.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$61.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$57.65.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.12%.

Insider Transactions at Fortis

In other Fortis news, Senior Officer Keri Linda Glitch acquired 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$61.41 per share, for a total transaction of C$27,634.59. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 450 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$27,634.59. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Also, 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. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Fortis

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.