Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $2.56 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 44,701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Fortis during the second quarter worth $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortis during the first quarter worth $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortis in the second quarter valued at $31,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its position in shares of Fortis by 157.4% in the third quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Down 0.5%

FTS opened at $55.28 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $56.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.61. The company has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.42. Fortis has a 1 year low of $48.64 and a 1 year high of $59.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56.

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

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FTS shares. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.