Fortis (TSE:FTS) Sets New 1-Year High Following Dividend Announcement

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as C$64.11 and last traded at C$64.00, with a volume of 213515 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$62.89.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.615 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. Fortis's payout ratio is 73.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FTS. CIBC raised their price target on Fortis from C$64.00 to C$65.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortis from C$65.00 to C$69.00 in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a C$67.00 price objective on shares of Fortis and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upped their target price on Fortis from C$61.00 to C$62.50 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Fortis from C$63.00 to C$66.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of C$62.45.

Fortis Stock Down 2.7 %

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 moving average price of C$60.75 and a 200 day moving average price of C$60.62. The stock has a market capitalization of C$30.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Jocelyn Perry sold 11,809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$63.19, for a total value of C$746,178.83. Insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Fortis Company Profile

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.