Nuveen LLC Takes $16.22 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired approximately $16.22 million in Fortis shares, totaling 356,034 shares, which represents about 0.07% ownership of the utilities provider.
• Fortis recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.55, surpassing estimates, and announced a dividend increase, bringing the quarterly payout to $0.4448 per share, with a 3.5% annualized yield.
• Analysts have varied ratings for Fortis, with one "Strong Buy," four "Buy," and five "Hold" ratings; the consensus price target has been set at $72.00.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 356,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,215,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.07% of Fortis at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 158,500.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS opened at $50.8340 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $40.32 and a 52-week high of $51.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $48.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.96.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a boost from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 73.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. Desjardins upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC upgraded Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Fortis from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis 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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