Fortis $FTS Shares Bought by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its Fortis stake by 4.1% in Q4, buying 204,151 shares to hold 5,138,553 shares (about 1.01% of the company) valued at $266,942,000, making FTS its 13th-largest position.
• Institutional ownership is 57.77%, with major funds (Vanguard, TD Asset Management, Scotia Capital, JPMorgan, and Bank of America) raising positions—Bank of America added 947,079 shares, a 60.7% increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.64 ($2.56 annualized) representing a 4.5% yield; the ex-dividend date is May 15 and the payment date is June 1.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,138,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 204,151 shares during the quarter. Fortis accounts for 1.7% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 1.01% of Fortis worth $266,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,593,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,196,727,000 after purchasing an additional 568,326 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $686,518,000 after purchasing an additional 57,447 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,523,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $128,061,000 after purchasing an additional 21,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,508,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $127,270,000 after purchasing an additional 947,079 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FTS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortis from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

Fortis stock opened at $56.86 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $56.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.45. The company has a market cap of $28.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $45.87 and a fifty-two week high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.41%.

About Fortis

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.