Sciencast Management LP Makes New Investment in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,376 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FTS. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its holdings in Fortis by 4.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 22,279 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Fortis by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 654,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,172,000 after purchasing an additional 38,393 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 31,293 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 5,199 shares during the last quarter. Addison Capital Co lifted its position in Fortis by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 40,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Fortis by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 13,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 4,928 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Fortis Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FTS traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.62. 410,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 557,114. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a PEG 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.72. Fortis Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.86 and a twelve month high of $46.06.

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

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's payout ratio is 72.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.