Korea Investment CORP Buys 95,866 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its Fortis stake by 31.2% in Q3, buying 95,866 shares to hold 403,341 shares (about 0.08%) valued at $20.46 million.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 (annualized $2.56) payable June 1 with an ex-dividend/record date of May 15, implying a ~4.4% yield and a 77.1% payout ratio.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $72; the stock sits around $57.6 (PE 23.6) after a quarter that beat EPS estimates ($0.65 vs. $0.62) but missed revenue expectations.

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 403,341 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 95,866 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.08% of Fortis worth $20,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Fortis by 2,119.1% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 157.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 55.8% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $119,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FTS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortis from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.4%

FTS stock opened at $57.58 on Wednesday. Fortis has a twelve month low of $43.28 and a twelve month high of $58.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.33 and a 200 day moving average of $52.03.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Fortis's payout ratio is currently 77.05%.

About Fortis

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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