Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Position in Fortis $FTS

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 621,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,774 shares during the quarter. Fortis accounts for approximately 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Fortis were worth $34,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in Fortis during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its position in shares of Fortis by 157.4% during the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 123.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2,119.1% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Fortis Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE FTS opened at $57.79 on Wednesday. Fortis has a 1-year low of $46.66 and a 1-year high of $58.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.46 and a 200-day moving average of $55.64. The firm has a market cap of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.49 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.59 EPS for the current year.

Fortis 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.