Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Stock Position in Fortis $FTS

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 23.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 507,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 151,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Fortis were worth $28,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,138,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,942,000 after buying an additional 204,151 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Fortis by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 127,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,654,000 after acquiring an additional 32,842 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,720,000 after acquiring an additional 305,450 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $58.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.74 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.10. Fortis has a 1 year low of $48.35 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.