Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group more than doubled its Fortis stake to 48,777 shares during the first quarter, valued at approximately $2.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.77% of Fortis stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Fortis has a consensus “Hold” rating from nine analysts, with an average price target of $66.33, despite TD Securities maintaining a “Buy” rating.
• Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, slightly above estimates, but revenue of $1.67 billion fell short of expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64, implying a 4.6% annualized yield.

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 103.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC's holdings in Fortis were worth $2,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Fortis by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,966,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,443 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,254,541,000 after purchasing an additional 536,118 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Fortis by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,481 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $445,335,000 after purchasing an additional 677,226 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FTS. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.33.

Fortis Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $56.15 on Friday. Fortis has a 52-week low of $48.64 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.01 and a 200 day moving average of $56.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.87%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company's core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.

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