Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 1,359,654 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Mackenzie Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 29.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,198,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,359,654 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.63% of Fortis worth $162,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2,119.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth about $56,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Fortis by 157.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Fortis by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at $119,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of FTS opened at $57.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.03. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $43.28 and a fifty-two week high of $58.23. The company has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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

Fortis Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on FTS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

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.