Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $3.11 Million Investment in Fortis $FTS

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 54,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,112,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Fortis by 19.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,760,000 after acquiring an additional 90,776 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Fortis by 148.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 3.4% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Fortis by 4.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of FTS opened at $54.94 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.61. 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 has a 1 year low of $48.64 and a 1 year high of $59.40. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.68%.

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.