Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Increases Stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,512 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Fortis were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,722,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $902,656,000 after buying an additional 364,391 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,266,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $509,425,000 after buying an additional 173,226 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,148,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $379,614,000 after buying an additional 329,767 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Fortis by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 6,218,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $258,068,000 after buying an additional 612,395 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Fortis by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,443,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,878,000 after buying an additional 1,316,394 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:FTS traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.85. 699,130 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 614,231. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $38.15 and a one year high of $50.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.73. The company has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Desjardins assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.