Allianz Asset Management GmbH Acquires 17,818 Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 63.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,818 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Fortis were worth $2,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 91,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,786,000 after acquiring an additional 3,193 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Fortis by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 51,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Fortis by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 240,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,998,000 after acquiring an additional 36,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at $294,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS traded up $0.88 on Friday, reaching $49.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,030,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,241. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $40.32 and a fifty-two week high of $50.56. The stock has a market cap of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $47.80 and its 200 day moving average is $46.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 7.08%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This is a boost from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Fortis's payout ratio is currently 75.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Desjardins assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC raised shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Securities started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, June 27th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.