Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 679 Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 679 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $7,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Fortis by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Fortis by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC lifted its holdings in Fortis by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Fortis by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 89,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,728,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of FTS stock opened at $48.16 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.15 and a 12-month high of $48.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $45.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.84.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4324 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.