Wellington Management Group LLP Takes $2.14 Million Position in Fortis $FTS

Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 37,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,141,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortis during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 157.4% in the 3rd quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.33.

Fortis Stock Down 1.1%

FTS stock opened at $54.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 0.42. Fortis has a 52 week low of $48.69 and a 52 week high of $59.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.57. 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 (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian investor-owned utility company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Fortis operates electric transmission and distribution networks, natural gas distribution systems, and power generation assets. Its businesses include FortisBC in British Columbia, Newfoundland Power and Maritime Electric in Atlantic Canada, as well as utilities in the United States, including Central Hudson, UNS Energy and ITC.