Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

FTS has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 0.6%

Fortis stock opened at $58.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.26. Fortis has a 1-year low of $43.28 and a 1-year high of $58.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 77.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth $249,000. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 7.0% in the second quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 101,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 42.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,955,000 after purchasing an additional 236,347 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Fortis by 172.5% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortis by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 963,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,859,000 after purchasing an additional 25,809 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Company 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.