Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,177 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Fortis were worth $7,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 794,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,195,000 after purchasing an additional 29,790 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,407,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,266 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,265,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,014,227,000 after purchasing an additional 542,749 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 384,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter valued at about $439,000. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
FTS has been the subject of several research reports. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on FTS
Fortis Stock Up 0.1%
Shares of NYSE FTS traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.81. The company had a trading volume of 77,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,883. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $25.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis has a 12-month low of $40.32 and a 12-month high of $51.45.
Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.
Fortis Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change 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 currently 72.84%.
Fortis Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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