Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA decreased its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 38.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,200 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Fortis were worth $1,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Fortis by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Fortis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Fortis by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 89,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,728,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $48.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.79. Fortis Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.15 and a 52 week high of $50.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on FTS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Desjardins began coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.