OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes $20.53 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• OMERS Administration Corp. bought 358,474 Fortis shares worth approximately $20.53 million, taking a 0.07% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 57.77% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with Fortis holding an average “Hold” rating and an average price target of $66.33; three analysts rate it a Buy and five rate it a Hold.
• Fortis slightly exceeded quarterly EPS expectations at $0.56 versus $0.55, while revenue fell short of forecasts. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 4.7%.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 358,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,529,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp owned about 0.07% of Fortis as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at about $335,980,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth approximately $311,146,000. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth approximately $257,370,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth approximately $114,523,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $111,451,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.33.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS opened at $54.94 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. Fortis has a 52 week low of $48.64 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.68%.

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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