CIBC Asset Management Inc Sells 237,298 Shares of Fortis $FTS

CIBC Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,655,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 237,298 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Fortis were worth $138,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FTS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,254,541,000 after buying an additional 536,118 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Fortis by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 13,531,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $686,518,000 after buying an additional 57,447 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,748,000 after buying an additional 326,212 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Fortis by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,381,000 after buying an additional 372,377 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,980,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Fortis Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $54.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Fortis has a one year low of $46.46 and a one year high of $58.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.