2,001,045 Shares in Fortis $FTS Bought by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,001,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $114,523,000. Fortis accounts for about 0.7% of Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned approximately 0.39% of Fortis at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Fortis by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 175,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,150,000 after purchasing an additional 50,632 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,254,541,000 after buying an additional 536,118 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 39.0% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,720,000 after buying an additional 305,450 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 37.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 333,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,590,000 after buying an additional 91,219 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 103.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 48,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:FTS opened at $56.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $48.64 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.55. The stock has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The company 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

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.