Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Has $224.28 Million Stock Holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Fortis by 52.0% in the first quarter, owning approximately 4.9 million shares worth $224.28 million, making it a significant position in its portfolio.
• Fortis reported an EPS of $0.55 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, alongside a revenue of $2.03 billion, which was above the $1.91 billion forecast by analysts.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4448 per share, reflecting a 3.5% dividend yield, with a payout ratio currently at 73.25%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,922,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,683,377 shares during the period. Fortis accounts for 1.0% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.98% of Fortis worth $224,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 51,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 10,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Fortis by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,359,640 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,520,000 after buying an additional 61,525 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Desjardins raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC raised shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1%

FTS traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.59. 130,371 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 594,481. The company has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $48.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Fortis has a one year low of $40.32 and a one year high of $51.45.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 72.84%.

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.