Guardian Partners Inc. Grows Holdings in Fortis $FTS

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 position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,712 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises about 1.4% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Guardian Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Fortis worth $13,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fortis by 286.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 647 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 914 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FTS. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. CIBC raised shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Desjardins raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE FTS traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $49.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 287,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,406. The stock has a market cap of $24.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.48. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $40.32 and a fifty-two week high of $51.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $49.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.4448 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.84%.

Fortis 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.