Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC Buys Shares of 50,472 Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired 50,472 shares of Fortis, valued at approximately $2,301,000, during the first quarter according to a recent SEC filing.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4448 per share, increasing from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.43, representing an annual yield of 3.5%.
• Fortis's stock ratings include one Strong Buy, four Buy, and five Hold ratings, with a consensus target price of $72.00.

Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 50,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,301,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Fortis by 52.0% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,922,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,278,000 after buying an additional 1,683,377 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Fortis by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,443,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $184,878,000 after buying an additional 1,316,394 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Fortis by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,218,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,068,000 after buying an additional 612,395 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Fortis by 4.9% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 12,870,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $586,192,000 after buying an additional 604,615 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,869,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on FTS shares. CIBC upgraded Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Fortis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE:FTS traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.78. 444,449 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 595,798. The company has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $51.45. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $48.82 and a 200 day moving average of $47.31.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.25%.

Fortis Company 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.