Scotia Capital Inc. Sells 254,394 Shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. has reduced its stake in Fortis by 2.8%, now owning approximately 8.89 million shares, which constitutes 2.2% of its total holdings.
• Fortis is projecting earnings per share of $2.35 for the current fiscal year, with a recent quarterly earnings report showing a beat on estimates at $0.55 EPS.
• The company will issue a quarterly dividend of $0.4448 per share on September 1st, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.43.

Scotia Capital Inc. lowered its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,893,643 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 254,394 shares during the period. Fortis accounts for approximately 2.2% of Scotia Capital Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Scotia Capital Inc. owned approximately 1.77% of Fortis worth $403,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FTS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 91,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Fortis by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 51,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the fourth quarter worth $294,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at $249,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS traded up $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $50.56. The stock had a trading volume of 130,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,248. Fortis has a one year low of $40.32 and a one year high of $51.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $47.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.37.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 72.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday. CIBC upgraded Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Desjardins upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

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.