Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Fortis (NYSE:FTS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.89 and last traded at $52.3580, with a volume of 149821 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.46. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 7.05%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 77.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fortis during the 2nd quarter valued at $291,400,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 4,662.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 986,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,244,000 after purchasing an additional 965,833 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Fortis by 60.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,508,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,270,000 after purchasing an additional 947,079 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fortis by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,414,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,828,000 after buying an additional 849,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,025,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,099,399,000 after buying an additional 759,772 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Company Profile

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.