The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Takes Position in Fortis $FTS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,595,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $148,382,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.51% of Fortis at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.33.

Fortis Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of FTS stock opened at $55.30 on Tuesday. Fortis has a 1-year low of $48.64 and a 1-year high of $59.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Fortis’s payout ratio is presently 73.68%.

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.