Fortis $FTS Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 13.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,035,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 790,484 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 1.00% of Fortis worth $255,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd raised its position in Fortis by 1.7% during the third quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 13,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 4.3% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC grew its position in shares of Fortis by 2.8% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.5% during the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 6.6% during the third quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FTS. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $58.16 on Friday. Fortis has a twelve month low of $43.28 and a twelve month high of $58.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.18.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.