Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Short Interest Down 37.0% in May

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 10,780,946 shares, a decrease of 37.0% from the May 14th total of 17,111,074 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 721,283 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 14.9 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FTS. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 4.3% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Addison Capital Co increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 32,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Trading Down 0.2%

FTS stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.13. The company had a trading volume of 749,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,444. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $56.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.83. Fortis has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $58.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.00.

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.