Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 72.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 759,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 319,884 shares during the period. Fortis makes up approximately 1.1% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. owned about 0.15% of Fortis worth $31,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 724.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake 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 last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company's stock.
Fortis Price Performance
Shares of NYSE FTS traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.23. The company had a trading volume of 563,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 625,625. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. Fortis Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.86 and a twelve month high of $46.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.72.
Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, 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 disclosed 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 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.03%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Separately, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on FTS
About Fortis
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Free Report)
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.
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