Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Stake in Fortis $FTS

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,557,443 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 6.92% of Fortis worth $1,966,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis during the 1st quarter worth $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 19.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,760,000 after purchasing an additional 90,776 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 148.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Fortis by 3.4% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 33,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Fortis by 4.4% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after buying an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Stock Up 0.2%

Fortis stock opened at $58.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.10. Fortis has a twelve month low of $48.35 and a twelve month high of $59.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FTS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, July 17th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.00.

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.