Cidel Asset Management Inc. Has $51.93 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management reduced its Fortis stake by 7.6% in the second quarter, selling 74,436 shares and retaining 906,780 shares valued at approximately $51.93 million. Fortis represents about 2.5% of Cidel’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 57.77% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Fortis has an overall consensus rating of “Hold”, with three Buy ratings and five Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $66.33. Recent actions included a downgrade to Hold by CIBC, a Sell rating from Wall Street Zen, and an increased price target from RBC.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly above the $0.55 consensus estimate, though revenue of $1.67 billion fell short of expectations. The company pays an annualized dividend of $2.56 per share, representing a 4.6% yield.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 906,780 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 74,436 shares during the period. Fortis comprises approximately 2.5% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cidel Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Fortis worth $51,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its position in Fortis by 157.4% during the third quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $55.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $56.69 and its 200 day moving average is $56.60. Fortis has a one year low of $48.68 and a one year high of $59.40.

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

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.68%.

About Fortis

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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