Guardian Partners Inc. Takes Position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 291,596 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,238,000. Fortis makes up about 1.2% of Guardian Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Guardian Partners Inc. owned 0.06% of Fortis at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Fortis by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 151,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,286,000 after acquiring an additional 3,971 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 91,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,786,000 after purchasing an additional 3,193 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Fortis by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 485,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,122,000 after buying an additional 22,279 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Fortis by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 654,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,172,000 after buying an additional 38,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold".

Fortis Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE FTS traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.72. The stock had a trading volume of 389,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,151. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $36.86 and a one year high of $46.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.03%.

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.