Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Shares Purchased by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 114.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 341,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 182,101 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.07% of Fortis worth $14,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. Desjardins started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:FTS traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $48.32. The company had a trading volume of 343,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 620,078. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $46.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $38.15 and a one year high of $50.06.

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

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.