TD Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Fortis by 4.9%, acquiring an additional 604,615 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 12.87 million shares valued at $586.19 million.
• Several large investors, including Norges Bank and Geode Capital Management, have also adjusted their holdings in Fortis, indicating strong institutional interest with 57.77% of the shares owned by institutional investors.
• Fortis recently reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and has received mixed ratings from analysts, with an average consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $72.00.

TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,870,736 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 604,615 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc owned about 2.57% of Fortis worth $586,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,751,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Fortis by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 91,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,786,000 after buying an additional 3,193 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Fortis by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 51,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 1.7% during 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. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE FTS traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 139,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,437. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $47.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.07. Fortis has a twelve month low of $40.32 and a twelve month high of $50.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.48.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.20% and a return on equity of 7.08%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, June 27th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. CIBC raised shares of Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Desjardins assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.