Quantbot Technologies LP Takes $3.11 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 54,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,112,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Fortis by 4.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,966,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,443 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis by 2.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in Fortis by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,034,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666,481 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $445,335,000 after purchasing an additional 677,226 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FTS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $54.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a twelve month low of $48.64 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.61.

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

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

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.