Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Reduces Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Crossmark Global Holdings reduced its Fortis stake by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,410 shares and leaving it with 265,074 shares valued at about $13.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 57.77% of Fortis shares. Several firms recently increased positions, including Citigroup, which raised its stake by 68.8%.
• Fortis reported earnings and maintained a dividend, posting $0.72 EPS versus $0.70 expected and announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share, or a 4.6% annualized yield.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 265,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,410 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned 0.05% of Fortis worth $13,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 963,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,859,000 after purchasing an additional 25,809 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 313,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,913,000 after acquiring an additional 127,868 shares during the period. Coleford Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,516,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,103,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 813,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FTS. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortis from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $61.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:FTS opened at $56.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $45.87 and a fifty-two week high of $58.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.93.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.42%.

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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