UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Downgrades ITC Holdings As Valuation Looks Fair

In a report published Monday, Wunderlich Securities analyst James L. Dobson downgraded the rating on

from Buy to Hold, and lowered the price target from $45.00 to $41.00. In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “The investment theme supporting additional electricity transmission infrastructure in the U.S. remains intact. ITC Holdings (ITC) continues to be a leader in the transmission sector, and has sustainable competitive advantages that will support attractive EPS growth over the next five years. However, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) still attempting to balance lower interest rates (which impact ROEs) with the need to attract capital to the sector, and slower than expected development opportunities (due largely to Order 1000 impacts), we are downgrading ITC to Hold from Buy. We are trimming our EPS estimates to reflect a slightly lower ROE in 2017, and reducing our price target to reflect these revised estimates at historical relative valuation multiples.” ITC Holdings closed on Friday at $37.99.