JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stock Position in Fortis $FTS

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 0.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,523,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,631 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $128,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FTS. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 1.7% in the third quarter. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd now owns 13,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its holdings in Fortis by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 9,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Fortis by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 48,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Fortis by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $56.28 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis has a one year low of $43.19 and a one year high of $57.25.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 76.64%.

About Fortis

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.