Fortis $FTS Shares Acquired by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,504,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,504 shares during the quarter. Fortis accounts for about 1.3% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $502,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 268,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,233,000 after purchasing an additional 5,635 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 6.4% during the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 32.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 78.4% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fortis by 5.9% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 11,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Fortis stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $55.76. 812,386 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 901,461. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a twelve month low of $49.60 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The company has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.97.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a dividend of C$0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

About Fortis

Fortis Inc (NYSE: FTS) is a regulated electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Through its operating utilities, the company generates, transmits and distributes electricity and provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates a portfolio of utility businesses across Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. Its regulated operations include electric utilities in several Canadian provinces, U.S.