Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 19,700 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Westerkirk Capital Inc. reduced its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 93.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,700 shares during the quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $73,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 536,118 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Fortis by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $686,518,000 after buying an additional 57,447 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 3.7% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $461,748,000 after buying an additional 326,212 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $445,335,000 after buying an additional 677,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $357,381,000 after acquiring an additional 372,377 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Fortis has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.00.

Fortis Stock Up 1.2%

FTS opened at $55.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.65. Fortis has a 1-year low of $46.46 and a 1-year high of $58.78.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

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.