Fortis $FTS Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,198,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,359,654 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Fortis were worth $162,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTS. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortis by 2,119.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Fortis by 157.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its stake in Fortis by 55.8% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Fortis in the second quarter worth about $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Down 0.4%

Fortis stock opened at $57.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $43.28 and a fifty-two week high of $58.23.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 77.05%.

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.