StockNews.com Downgrades Fortis (NYSE:FTS) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Fortis Stock Performance

Fortis stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.95. 832,380 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 855,848. Fortis has a twelve month low of $36.30 and a twelve month high of $46.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.42.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.00% and a net margin of 13.22%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.4382 dividend. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quilter Plc purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth $330,614,000. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Fortis by 78.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 888 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis during the third quarter worth $41,000. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.