TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Fortis $FTS

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,934,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,910 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises approximately 1.6% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. owned about 0.98% of Fortis worth $248,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fortis in the second quarter valued at approximately $291,400,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,414,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,828,000 after purchasing an additional 849,606 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,025,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,099,399,000 after buying an additional 759,772 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Fortis by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,474,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,076,000 after buying an additional 603,772 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Fortis by 5.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $296,614,000 after buying an additional 345,633 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $53.39 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.69. Fortis has a twelve month low of $41.24 and a twelve month high of $53.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.18% and a return on equity of 7.05%. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, October 6th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

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.