Cibc World Market Inc. Takes $442.63 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• CIBC World Market acquired 7.73 million Fortis shares worth approximately $442.6 million, giving it a 1.51% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 57.77% of the utility company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.33. Recent targets ranged from $60 to $89.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.64, equivalent to a 4.7% annualized yield.

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,733,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $442,633,000. Cibc World Market Inc. owned about 1.51% of Fortis as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Fortis by 4.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,966,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,443 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,254,541,000 after purchasing an additional 536,118 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,034,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,481 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $357,381,000 after buying an additional 372,377 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $54.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.61. Fortis has a 1 year low of $48.64 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The stock has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

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

Fortis Company 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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