Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Fortis stock has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by Zacks Research, amid a mixed response from other research firms including a recent upgrade to "buy" from Desjardins.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a net income of $0.55 EPS, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter.
• Institutional investors have been active, increasing their holdings significantly, with 57.77% of the stock currently owned by hedge funds and other institutions.

Zacks Research lowered shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday, August 18th,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FTS. Cibc World Mkts raised Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC raised Fortis from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:FTS traded down $0.4150 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $50.2650. 153,807 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 595,366. The stock has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis has a 12-month low of $40.32 and a 12-month high of $51.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.12.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.48%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.4448 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter worth $365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at $1,751,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 135.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 17,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 577,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,999,000 after purchasing an additional 28,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

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.