Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Fortis $FTS

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 372,377 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fortis were worth $357,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,254,541,000 after purchasing an additional 536,118 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Fortis by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $686,518,000 after purchasing an additional 57,447 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Fortis by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,954,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,966,000 after purchasing an additional 90,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,138,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,942,000 after purchasing an additional 204,151 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on FTS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $54.47 on Tuesday. Fortis has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $58.78. The stock has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Company 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.