Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Trading Down 1.5% - Here's What Happened

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 1.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $43.28 and last traded at $43.82. Approximately 640,537 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 632,841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Fortis Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $44.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in Fortis in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fortis by 286.7% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Fortis

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.