Fortis $FTS Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Fortis stake by 26% in the first quarter, adding 815,349 shares to own 3.95 million shares valued at approximately $220.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.77% of Fortis.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy ratings and six Hold ratings producing a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $61.00. Recent changes included Barclays lowering its target to $61 and CIBC downgrading the stock to Hold.
• Fortis shares opened at $58.34, while the company’s latest quarterly results showed adjusted EPS of $0.72, beating estimates by $0.02, though revenue of $2.45 billion fell short of forecasts.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 26.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,951,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 815,349 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.78% of Fortis worth $220,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its position in shares of Fortis by 157.4% during the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Fortis by 123.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $58.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average is $56.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.05. Fortis has a 52-week low of $48.28 and a 52-week high of $59.21. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

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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