Bank of Nova Scotia Makes New $257.37 Million Investment in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 4.49 million Fortis shares worth approximately $257.4 million, giving it a 0.88% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.77% of Fortis.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.33; recent actions included downgrades from Wall Street Zen and CIBC, while Barclays and RBC adjusted their price targets.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly above estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share, representing a 4.7% annualized yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,492,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $257,370,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.88% of Fortis at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Addison Capital Co increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 32,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Fortis by 0.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 10.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 37,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,969,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.9% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 34,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Price Performance

Fortis stock opened at $54.94 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.12 and its 200 day moving average is $56.58. Fortis has a one year low of $48.64 and a one year high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.68%.

Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company's core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.

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