Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Position in Fortis $FTS

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its Fortis stake by 2.3% in Q4 to 24,129,958 shares—about 4.76% ownership—valued at roughly $1.254 billion.
• Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 (annualized $2.56) with an ex-dividend date of May 15 and a yield of about 4.5%, payable June 1.
• Analysts carry a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $67, compared with a recent share price near $57.24.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 536,118 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.76% of Fortis worth $1,254,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA grew its stake in Fortis by 157.4% during the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 123.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. LOM Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2,119.1% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth about $56,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTS has been the topic of several research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $57.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average of $53.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51. Fortis has a one year low of $45.87 and a one year high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 75.41%.

Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company's core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.

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