Fortis (TSE:FTS) Price Target Lowered to C$56.00 at CIBC

Fortis (TSE:FTS) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at CIBC from C$59.00 to C$56.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. CIBC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.20% from the company’s current price.

FTS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. National Bankshares upped their price target on Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Fortis from C$57.00 to C$60.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$57.31.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS stock traded up C$0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching C$52.73. 320,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,518,421. The stock has a market capitalization of C$26.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. Fortis has a 52 week low of C$49.82 and a 52 week high of C$62.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$53.02 and a 200 day moving average price of C$54.13.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.72. The business had revenue of C$2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$3.22 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 13.66%. As a group, analysts expect that Fortis will post 3.2119367 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$39.18 per share, with a total value of C$73,971.65. In related news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Also, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. In the last three months, insiders have bought 2,851 shares of company stock valued at $111,115. 0.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.