Korea Investment CORP Acquires New Position in Fortis $FTS

Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 560,211 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,083,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at $335,980,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth $114,523,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter worth $111,451,000. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,034,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,481 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,966,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,443 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS opened at $54.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a 12 month low of $48.64 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.58. The stock has a market cap of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.33.

About Fortis

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.