Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 19,544 Fortis $FTS

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 19,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortis in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $54.88 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22 and a beta of 0.43. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $48.64 and a fifty-two week high of $59.40.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 price target on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortis currently 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.