1832 Asset Management L.P. Sells 90,937 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in Fortis by 1.0%, owning approximately 1.75% of the company, valued at $399 million after selling 90,937 shares.
• Fortis declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.4448, leading to an annualized dividend of $1.78 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Brokerage firms have recently upgraded their ratings for Fortis, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00 for the stock.

1832 Asset Management L.P. cut its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,754,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 90,937 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned 1.75% of Fortis worth $399,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 5.7% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 3.4% during the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Fortis by 2.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE FTS traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $49.78. 927,055 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,493. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.16. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $51.45. The firm has a market cap of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.48, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.4448 dividend. This is a boost from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. Desjardins raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Fortis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.