Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,502 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 35,231 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Fortis were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 114.7% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 161,482 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,442,000 after purchasing an additional 153,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,443,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $46.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.15 and a 52 week high of $50.06. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.33.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4324 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Fortis's payout ratio is 71.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Desjardins assumed coverage on Fortis in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.