Quantinno Capital Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 37.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 333,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 91,219 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Fortis were worth $18,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,254,541,000 after acquiring an additional 536,118 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its position in Fortis by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,481 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in Fortis by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $445,335,000 after purchasing an additional 677,226 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Fortis by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,381,000 after purchasing an additional 372,377 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Fortis News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortis this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat estimates: Fortis reported quarterly EPS of $0.78, up from $0.76 a year earlier and well above the consensus estimate of $0.56 in the company’s earnings release. A separate Zacks report cited adjusted EPS of $0.56 versus a $0.55 consensus, indicating the precise figure varies by accounting measure, but both measures reflected an earnings beat. Fortis earnings conference call
• Positive Sentiment: Tilbury LNG expansion approved: British Columbia approval of FortisBC’s Tilbury LNG expansion improves the outlook for a major infrastructure and growth project, potentially supporting long-term rate-base expansion and utility earnings. Fortis Q2 earnings and Tilbury LNG approval
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Fortis declared a quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share, payable September 1 to shareholders of record August 19. The annualized payout implies an approximately 4.5% yield, reinforcing the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Fortis third-quarter dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Profitability remains steady: Fortis reported a 7.25% return on equity and a 14.21% net margin. These metrics support financial stability but do not indicate a material change in operating profitability.
• Negative Sentiment: Leverage and liquidity remain considerations: Fortis has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Elevated leverage and limited near-term liquidity could weigh on valuation, particularly if interest rates remain high or project costs increase.

Fortis Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FTS stock opened at $56.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Fortis has a 12 month low of $48.64 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The stock has a market cap of $29.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.22.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FTS. Wall Street Zen cut Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.