Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Increases Stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd significantly increased its stake in Fortis by 2,841.1%, owning 28,499 shares after purchasing 27,530 more in the first quarter, valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Fortis reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.55 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.51, alongside a reported revenue of $2.03 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.4448 per share, raising its annualized dividend yield to 3.5% from the previous $0.43.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2,841.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 27,530 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Fortis were worth $1,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,683,377 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Fortis by 42.1% during 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 buying an additional 1,316,394 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Fortis by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,218,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $258,068,000 after buying an additional 612,395 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fortis by 4.9% during 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 buying an additional 604,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $22,869,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortis presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FTS opened at $50.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $48.27 and a 200 day moving average of $46.79. Fortis has a 52-week low of $40.32 and a 52-week high of $51.45. 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 (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during 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 company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is 73.25%.

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.

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