Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $47.94 and last traded at $47.53, with a volume of 82423 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $46.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Stock Down 2.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.32 and a 200 day moving average of $43.77.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 72.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC lifted its stake in Fortis by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

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.