Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 29,790 Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.9%, now owning 794,091 shares valued at approximately $36.2 million, as detailed in its recent SEC filing.
• Fortis also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4448, effective September 1st, resulting in a new annualized dividend of $1.78 and a yield of 3.5%.
• Despite an earnings per share of $0.55 for the last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations, Fortis stock has seen a slight decline of 0.2% recently, opening at $50.57.

Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 794,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.16% of Fortis worth $36,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Fortis by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 18,584 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $864,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Fortis by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 702,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,017,000 after acquiring an additional 168,684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on FTS shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Desjardins raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of FTS traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $50.76. The company had a trading volume of 452,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,400. Fortis has a twelve month low of $40.32 and a twelve month high of $51.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average is $48.21 and its 200-day moving average is $46.74. The company has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.46.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a $0.4448 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.25%.

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.