Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. Has $17.51 Million Stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 384,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises approximately 1.9% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned about 0.08% of Fortis worth $17,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FTS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 286.7% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 111.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 158,500.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS opened at $49.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.80 and a 200 day moving average of $46.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. Fortis has a 12 month low of $40.32 and a 12 month high of $50.56. The company has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.46.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 14.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.4448 dividend. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 75.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Desjardins initiated coverage on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC upgraded Fortis from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. TD Securities started coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

About Fortis

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.