Fortis $FTS Holdings Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its stake in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 577,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,043 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises 0.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned about 0.11% of Fortis worth $30,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Fortis by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

Fortis Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE FTS opened at $57.13 on Wednesday. Fortis has a twelve month low of $46.46 and a twelve month high of $58.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $29.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.83.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

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.