Sciencast Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Fortis by 21.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,190,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $235,839,000 after purchasing an additional 930,331 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its position in shares of Fortis by 413.6% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 395,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,973,000 after purchasing an additional 318,474 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 3rd quarter worth $13,236,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 9.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,890,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,330,000 after buying an additional 250,630 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fortis by 10.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,404,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,771,000 after buying an additional 223,733 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE:FTS traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.72. 389,171 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,445. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $22.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. Fortis Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.86 and a 12 month high of $46.06. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.72.

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Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company 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 firm earned $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Fortis 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.