ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 3,005 Shares of Fortis $FTS

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Fortis were worth $2,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Verus Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at $205,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE:FTS opened at $52.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis has a twelve month low of $40.32 and a twelve month high of $52.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.47 and a 200-day moving average of $49.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.The company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on FTS shares. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts raised Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Desjardins upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Company 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.