1,880 Shares in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Acquired by McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $75,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 22.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 9.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its position in Fortis by 9.1% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 26,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 45.3% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 510,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,266,000 after buying an additional 159,068 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Fortis by 32.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 212,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,540,000 after buying an additional 52,248 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.59% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Up 1.2 %

FTS opened at $42.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.42. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $34.76 and a one year high of $51.66.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 6.48% and a net margin of 12.20%. Analysts anticipate that Fortis Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4211 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 16th. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 79.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Fortis from C$57.00 to C$58.00 in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. CIBC boosted their target price on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$57.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Fortis from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on Fortis from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.86.

Fortis Company Profile

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Fortis, Inc is an energy delivery company, which engages in the provision of energy generation and distribution. It operates through the Regulated Utilities and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated Utilities segment is composed of ITC, which contains mainly of the electric transmission operations of the ITC regulated operating subsidiaries, UNS Energy that offers vertically integrated utility services, Central Hudson, which provides regulated electric and gas T&D utility services, FortisBC Energy distributes natural gas in British Columbia, FortisAlberta, which involves in the ownership and operation of regulated electricity distribution facilities, FortisBC Electric includes the ownership of hydroelectric generating plants, high voltage transmission lines, and a large network of distribution assets, and Other Electric that contains utilities in the eastern Canada and Caribbean.