Fortis $FTS Stock Position Lessened by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 969,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 94,440 shares during the period. Fortis accounts for approximately 4.3% of QV Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $49,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,025,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,099,399,000 after purchasing an additional 759,772 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,474,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $642,076,000 after buying an additional 603,772 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $296,614,000 after buying an additional 345,633 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth $291,400,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Fortis by 18.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,414,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,828,000 after acquiring an additional 849,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on FTS shares. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $52.33 on Friday. Fortis has a 12 month low of $41.24 and a 12 month high of $52.89. The stock has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.05% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.83%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company’s core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.