Q: why are analysts advising or hold or sell when Fortis is close to a 52 week high? I know there are probably as many opinions as there are analysts, but presumably they are informed opinions.
5i Research Answer:
Analysts tend to be conservative. It is a pretty solid, high-paying job, and they do not get much benefit from 'sticking their neck out' versus the crowd. Target prices and recommendations tend to be similar. They do not get fired if 'everyone else was also wrong' but if they are an outlier then their calls are more closely scrutinized. AT 19X earnings FTS still looks OK to us, and its positive momentum in a bad market we think is a strong sign as well. But, it is up 28% in a year, and we would not expect those types of returns on a regular basis. It is still a relatively slow-growth utility company.