Fortis $FTS Stock Position Trimmed by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 899,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 69,973 shares during the period. Fortis accounts for 3.8% of QV Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $46,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fortis in the first quarter worth $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 19.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,760,000 after buying an additional 90,776 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 3,283 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 148.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $56.80 on Friday. Fortis has a 52 week low of $43.28 and a 52 week high of $58.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $28.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s payout ratio is 76.64%.

Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company’s core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.