Fortis $FTS Position Increased by Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 39.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 305,450 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises 1.7% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $60,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTS. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the first quarter valued at approximately $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Fortis by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,760,000 after purchasing an additional 90,776 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortis by 148.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,623,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $57.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.62. Fortis has a 52 week low of $46.66 and a 52 week high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

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.