Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Fortis ($FTS) by 12.6%, owning 133,686 shares valued at approximately $6.08 million after selling 19,329 shares during the first quarter.
• Fortis declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.4448 per share, representing a 3.5% yield, payable on September 1st, following a previous dividend of $0.43.
• The company reported $0.55 EPS for the last quarter, beating estimates, and had revenue of $2.03 billion, compared to expectations of $1.91 billion.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 19,329 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Fortis were worth $6,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Fortis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 286.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 111.7% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 158,500.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Up 1.2%

FTS opened at $50.8340 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis has a 12 month low of $40.32 and a 12 month high of $51.45.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.4448 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's payout ratio is 73.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Desjardins upgraded Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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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