Vise Technologies Inc. Buys New Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 22,372 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 157.4% during the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 123.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.33.

Fortis Stock Down 2.3%

Fortis stock opened at $54.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $48.64 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.58.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly 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. The firm 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. Equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

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.