Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Makes New $2.57 Million Investment in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 61,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,567,000. Fortis comprises 1.0% of Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the third quarter worth approximately $149,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.55. 607,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 623,537. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $46.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.33. The stock has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $38.15 and a one year high of $50.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued 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 yield of 3.72%. Fortis's payout ratio is 71.73%.

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.