Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Fortis from C$57.00 to C$58.00 in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their target price on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. National Bank Financial increased their target price on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Fortis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.86.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $41.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Fortis has a twelve month low of $34.76 and a twelve month high of $51.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.44.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. Fortis had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 26,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 510,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,266,000 after acquiring an additional 159,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Fortis by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 212,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,540,000 after acquiring an additional 52,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.59% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Fortis, Inc is an energy delivery company, which engages in the provision of energy generation and distribution. It operates through the Regulated Utilities and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated Utilities segment is composed of ITC, which contains mainly of the electric transmission operations of the ITC regulated operating subsidiaries, UNS Energy that offers vertically integrated utility services, Central Hudson, which provides regulated electric and gas T&D utility services, FortisBC Energy distributes natural gas in British Columbia, FortisAlberta, which involves in the ownership and operation of regulated electricity distribution facilities, FortisBC Electric includes the ownership of hydroelectric generating plants, high voltage transmission lines, and a large network of distribution assets, and Other Electric that contains utilities in the eastern Canada and Caribbean.