Deutsche Bank AG Takes Position in Fortis $FTS

Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 1,002,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $57,354,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Fortis by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 175,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,150,000 after buying an additional 50,632 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Fortis by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 333,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,590,000 after acquiring an additional 91,219 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,720,000 after acquiring an additional 305,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Fortis by 103.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 48,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,800 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $56.26 on Friday. 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 one year low of $48.64 and a one year high of $59.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.59. The company has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during 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 period last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FTS. Barclays lowered their target price on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis 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.