Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 6,618 Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,618 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Fortis worth $13,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callan Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Fortis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 111.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 31.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 702,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,017,000 after purchasing an additional 168,684 shares during the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the first quarter worth $342,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 8.6% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 19,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE:FTS traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.82. 420,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 616,658. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $47.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.76. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $39.36 and a fifty-two week high of $50.06.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.08% and a net margin of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FTS shares. Desjardins assumed coverage on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. TD Securities initiated coverage on Fortis in a report on Friday, June 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.