Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 8,853 Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 41.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,853 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s holdings in Fortis were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Fortis by 724.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.49. 452,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 612,052. Fortis Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.15 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $47.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.86.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Desjardins assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

About Fortis

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.