The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,070,856 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Fortis by 24.1%, selling over 1 million shares, while still holding approximately 0.67% of the company valued at around $154.46 million.
• Fortis announced a dividend increase to $0.4448 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.6%, representing an increase from the previous $0.43 dividend.
• Fortis's stock has received a mixed response from analysts, with upgrades and downgrades leading to an average target price of $72.00 and an overall rating of "Hold."

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 24.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,372,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,070,856 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.67% of Fortis worth $154,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FTS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 286.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Fortis by 111.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 158,500.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortis by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC raised shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $49.43. The company had a trading volume of 169,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,037. 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 $24.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.48. Fortis has a twelve month low of $40.32 and a twelve month high of $51.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $48.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.39.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a $0.4448 dividend. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a boost from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.25%.

About Fortis

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.