Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Sells 76,511 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Fortis by 50.6%, selling 76,511 shares and bringing their total ownership to 74,702 shares worth approximately $3.57 million.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4448, reflecting a 3.5% yield and a payout ratio of 73.25%, an increase from the previous dividend.
• Fortis reported earnings of $0.55 per share for the last quarter, outperforming analysts’ expectations, with revenue reaching $2.03 billion compared to estimates of $1.91 billion.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,702 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 76,511 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Fortis were worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FTS. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Fortis during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 286.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Fortis by 111.7% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Fortis in the second quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 158,500.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS opened at $50.26 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.22. Fortis has a 52-week low of $40.32 and a 52-week high of $51.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.50. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Desjardins raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Fortis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.