Amundi Increases Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Amundi increased its position in Fortis shares by 5.8% in the first quarter, owning a total of 1,495,795 shares worth approximately $68 million.
• Fortis plans to boost its quarterly dividend to $0.4448, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.78 and a yield of 3.6%.
• Despite recent upgrades from some analysts, Fortis currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus price target of $72.00 per share.

Amundi raised its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,495,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 82,341 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.30% of Fortis worth $68,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 286.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 111.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 158,500.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 100.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC raised Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Cibc World Mkts raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of FTS stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.37. 287,303 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,406. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $49.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.64. Fortis has a 52-week low of $40.32 and a 52-week high of $51.45.

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

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.4448 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.84%.

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.