Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Position in 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 shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 about 0.10% of Fortis worth $22,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its stake in Fortis by 2,841.1% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 28,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 27,530 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,215,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 52.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,683,377 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Fortis by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 794,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,195,000 after acquiring an additional 29,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS traded up $0.5940 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.8340. 887,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,086. Fortis has a 1 year low of $40.32 and a 1 year high of $51.45. The stock has a market cap of $25.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.96.

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

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on FTS shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. CIBC upgraded shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Zacks Research cut Fortis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.