USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 22,986 Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,986 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Fortis were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Fortis by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 89,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,728,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Fortis stock traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $48.36. 95,433 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,901. The company has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $47.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.69. Fortis Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.15 and a 52 week high of $50.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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