Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 28,642 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.12% of Fortis worth $23,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FTS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the 3rd quarter worth $149,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. QV Investors Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 1,074,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,631,000 after purchasing an additional 60,380 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Code Waechter LLC lifted its position in Fortis by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $778,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 85,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,261. The company has a market cap of $23.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.15 and a 12-month high of $50.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.31.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Fortis 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.