Man Group plc Invests $5.17 Million in Fortis $FTS

Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 90,329 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,170,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth about $111,451,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 39.0% during 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 buying an additional 305,450 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 333,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,590,000 after buying an additional 91,219 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,966,121,000 after buying an additional 1,557,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 103.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 48,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,714,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $54.69 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. Fortis has a 52 week low of $48.64 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $27.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three 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 company has an average 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.