Fortis (TSE:FTS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$65.28 and last traded at C$64.82, with a volume of 1636806 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$64.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FTS shares. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Fortis from C$64.00 to C$65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Fortis from C$58.00 to C$63.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a C$67.00 price objective on Fortis and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Fortis from C$61.00 to C$62.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Fortis from C$65.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$62.50.

Fortis Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$62.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$61.59. The firm has a market cap of C$32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.615 dividend. This represents a $2.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.02%.

About Fortis

Fortis owns and operates 10 utility transmission and distribution assets in Canada and the United States, serving more than 3.4 million electricity and gas customers. The company has smaller stakes in electricity generation and several Caribbean utilities. ITC operates electric transmission in seven U.S.