Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Acquires New Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. has acquired a new stake in Fortis, purchasing 187,500 shares valued at approximately $8.93 million in the second quarter.
• Fortis recently reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.51, and had revenue of $2.03 billion against projected figures of $1.91 billion.
• The company has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.4448 per share, reflecting a 3.6% yield with a payout ratio of 73.25%.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 187,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,934,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,265,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,014,227,000 after purchasing an additional 542,749 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.9% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 52.0% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 218.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,648,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $166,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Fortis by 1.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,644,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $120,488,000 after purchasing an additional 44,208 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $49.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $24.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $49.44 and its 200 day moving average is $47.82. Fortis has a 12-month low of $40.32 and a 12-month high of $51.45.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The company 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 quarter last year, the business earned $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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.4448 per share. 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. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 73.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report 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 reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Desjardins upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Company 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.

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