Fortis $FTS Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 26.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,951,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 815,349 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Fortis were worth $220,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Fortis by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,138,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,942,000 after buying an additional 204,151 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Fortis by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 175,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,150,000 after acquiring an additional 50,632 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortis by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,129,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,254,541,000 after acquiring an additional 536,118 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Fortis by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 127,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,654,000 after acquiring an additional 32,842 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 39.0% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,088,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,720,000 after acquiring an additional 305,450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Fortis stock opened at $58.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.05. The stock has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71 and a beta of 0.43. Fortis has a 12-month low of $48.28 and a 12-month high of $59.21.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FTS shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Fortis from $62.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.00.

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.