Fortis $FTS Shares Purchased by Triasima Portfolio Management inc.

Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 233,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,256 shares during the period. Fortis makes up approximately 1.8% of Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Triasima Portfolio Management inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $11,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter valued at approximately $291,400,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,414,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,828,000 after purchasing an additional 849,606 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,025,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,099,399,000 after purchasing an additional 759,772 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 4.7% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,474,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,076,000 after purchasing an additional 603,772 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 7.7% during the second quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,897,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $233,947,000 after buying an additional 351,619 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FTS. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $52.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $41.24 and a fifty-two week high of $52.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.67 and a 200-day moving average of $50.43. The stock has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.05% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.83%.

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.