Fortis $FTS Shares Bought by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

Key Points

• TD Waterhouse Canada increased its Fortis stake by 1.4% in the second quarter, owning 9.44 million shares worth approximately $535.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively held 57.77% of Fortis.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly above expectations, though revenue of $1.67 billion fell short of the $1.83 billion consensus estimate. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.56.
• Fortis maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.64, equivalent to $2.56 annually and a 4.6% yield. Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.33.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,436,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 129,466 shares during the quarter. Fortis accounts for approximately 1.4% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 1.85% of Fortis worth $535,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Fortis by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,966,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,443 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Fortis by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after buying an additional 1,666,481 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 3.7% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $461,748,000 after buying an additional 326,212 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $445,335,000 after buying an additional 677,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $357,381,000 after buying an additional 372,377 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $55.54 on Friday. Fortis has a 1 year low of $48.64 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.62.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.33.

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.

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