Fortis $FTS Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Fortis were worth $6,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $528,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Fortis by 157.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 53,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,165,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,660,000 after acquiring an additional 9,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. bought a new position in Fortis during the second quarter worth $699,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FTS. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Desjardins raised Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $52.27 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $52.83.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. Research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.83%.

Fortis Profile

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.