Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Purchases 10,032 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Fortis by 2.1%, acquiring an additional 10,032 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $22.57 million.
• Fortis announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4448 per share, reflecting a 3.5% yield with a payout ratio of 73.25%.
• Fortis reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $0.55 per share, exceeding analysts’ forecasts of $0.51, alongside revenue of $2.03 billion compared to expectations of $1.91 billion.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 495,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,032 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.10% of Fortis worth $22,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,265,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,014,227,000 after purchasing an additional 542,749 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Fortis by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 12,870,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $586,192,000 after purchasing an additional 604,615 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Fortis by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,218,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,068,000 after purchasing an additional 612,395 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,922,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,278,000 after purchasing an additional 1,683,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Fortis by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,443,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $184,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316,394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.83. The stock had a trading volume of 140,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,323. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $48.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis has a one year low of $40.32 and a one year high of $51.45. The firm has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.46.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.4448 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Company 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.