Short Interest in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Grows By 20.0%

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,530,000 shares, an increase of 20.0% from the April 30th total of 12,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 632,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 24.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Fortis Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE FTS traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.49. 452,751 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 611,395. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.86. Fortis has a 52-week low of $38.15 and a 52-week high of $50.06.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 724.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 286.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 111.7% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.