OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Invests $20.53 Million in Fortis $FTS

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 358,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,529,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth $205,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth about $311,146,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter worth about $257,370,000. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,751,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at $600,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FTS opened at $54.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Fortis has a 12 month low of $48.64 and a 12 month high of $59.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.12 and its 200-day moving average is $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FTS. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price objective on Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.33.

Fortis 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.