Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 206,901 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in Fortis by 39.1%, holding 322,658 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million after selling 206,901 shares.
• Fortis recently reported earnings of $0.55 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue of $2.03 billion compared to expectations of $1.91 billion.
• The company announced an increased quarterly dividend of $0.4448 per share, representing a yield of 3.5% with a payout ratio of 73.25%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 39.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 322,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 206,901 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.06% of Fortis worth $14,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 13.0% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 37,233 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 4,279 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Fortis by 98.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 90,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,112,000 after purchasing an additional 44,850 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in Fortis by 1.4% during the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 314,386 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 12.0% during the first quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 94,836 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,322,000 after purchasing an additional 10,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Fortis by 2.1% during the first quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 19,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 57,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,273. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.24. Fortis has a one year low of $40.32 and a one year high of $51.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share 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 net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Profile

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.