Two Sigma Investments LP Takes Position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FTS. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 149,151 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,194,000 after purchasing an additional 12,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 27,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $48.16. 581,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,354. The company's 50 day moving average is $47.79 and its 200-day moving average is $44.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. Fortis Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.15 and a fifty-two week 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FTS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Desjardins started coverage on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.