Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases Shares of 37,383 Fortis $FTS

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Addison Capital Co raised its position in shares of Fortis by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 32,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Fortis by 0.6% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 10.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Fortis by 0.9% in the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 34,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Fortis by 4.8% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 7,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FTS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.33.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS stock opened at $54.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 0.42. Fortis has a twelve month low of $48.69 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.57. 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 (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

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

Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian investor-owned utility company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas distribution systems, and power generation assets. Its businesses include FortisBC in British Columbia, Newfoundland Power and Maritime Electric in Atlantic Canada, as well as utilities in the United States, including Central Hudson, UNS Energy and ITC.