Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Rating Lowered to "Market Perform" at Raymond James

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Raymond James from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America started coverage on Fortis in a report on Friday, September 20th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised Fortis from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Fortis to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.58. 802,502 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,483. The stock has a market cap of $21.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Fortis has a 12 month low of $36.86 and a 12 month high of $46.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,071,484 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $352,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,728 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,142,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,259,000 after acquiring an additional 512,103 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 12,151,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $472,164,000 after buying an additional 270,417 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 42.6% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,418,000 after acquiring an additional 233,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,072,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $793,049,000 after acquiring an additional 229,972 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.