Fortis $FTS Shares Bought by Guardian Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Guardian Partners Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 2.3%, owning 298,308 shares valued at approximately $13.90 million.
• Fortis recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4448 per share, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.43, representing a yield of 3.6%.
• Multiple analysts have upgraded Fortis, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $72.00.

Guardian Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,712 shares during the quarter. Fortis makes up 1.4% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Guardian Partners Inc. owned about 0.06% of Fortis worth $13,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 218.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,648,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $166,303,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503,531 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Fortis in the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis in the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of Fortis by 5.8% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,495,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $68,178,000 after purchasing an additional 82,341 shares during the period. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New grew its holdings in Fortis by 3.6% during the first quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 9,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of FTS stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, reaching $49.37. 192,851 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 592,555. Fortis has a 52 week low of $40.32 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market capitalization of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $49.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.60.

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

Fortis Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" 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, August 18th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" 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 report on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.