Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New Investment in Fortis $FTS

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

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

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $55.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Fortis has a 1-year low of $48.64 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.62.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on FTS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.33.

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.