Fortis (TSE:FTS) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$58.86 and traded as high as C$60.50. Fortis shares last traded at C$60.35, with a volume of 672,544 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTS shares. Raymond James cut Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America set a C$60.00 price objective on Fortis and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Fortis from C$59.00 to C$61.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group raised Fortis to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortis from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$60.33.

Fortis Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.59, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of C$29.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of C$61.36 and a 200 day moving average price of C$58.86.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.50%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortis news, Senior Officer Keri Linda Glitch acquired 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$61.41 per share, for a total transaction of C$27,634.59. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$27,634.59. The trade was a ? increase in their position. Also, Director Gary Joseph Smith sold 21,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$61.45, for a total value of C$1,334,543.75. Corporate insiders own 0.04% 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.