Thursday, August 20, 2009

Fortis Inc 2

I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-FTS) today as I have not reviewed it since July 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I have had this stock 1987 and I have made a return of 13% per year, including dividends. All in all, this has been a great stock for me.

Looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling, I see that there is a bit of both, with more Insider Selling. There are no main stockholder (i.e. no person or family who owns this company). The CEO has the most shares of insiders, but most insiders own more options than shares. The insider buying is the most recent and it has been at $24 or less. This does not shed any light on this stock.

Most sites are giving this stock a current P/E ratio of 15 or 16. The 5 year average on close stock price is 19 and the 5 year average on the low stock price is 15. The dividend yield at 4% is good compared to the 5 year average, which is about 3%. The current price is just below the Graham Price and any price at or below the Graham Price is good. Also, the Price/Book Value ratio is about 80% of the 10 year average P/BV ratio. The accrual ratio is not bad at 2%. So this points to a relatively low current stock price.

When I look at analyst recommendations, I find that there are lots of Strong Buys ratings, lots of Buy ratings, plus some Holds and Underperform recommendations. The consensus recommendation would be a buy. There are lots of analysts following this stock. It is also considered to be a high quality stock. The Globe Investor site gives this stock 4 star rating.

If you look at the charts, this stock has done better than both the TSX Index and the Utilities Index for terms longer than 1 year. For lesser terms, this stock has done better than the Utilities Index, but not as well as the TSX Index.

Fortis is a diversified, international distribution utility holding company. This company provides gas and electricity to customers across Canada, through regulated holdings, which include a natural gas utility in British Columbia, and electric utilities in 5 provinces in Canada, and 3 Caribbean countries. It owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns and operates hotels in eight Canadian provinces as well as commercial real estate in Atlantic Canada. Its web site is www.fortisinc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/fts.htm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets.

1 comment:

  1. I like your review of Fortis. I now own 103 stocks of Fortis, earn 3 by the magic of DRIP. Fortis is not cheap for a small investor like myself, but its been so far a good pick for me. I plan to hold Fortis in my portfolio for a long time. Hope the dividend will increase.

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