Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $54,000 Stake in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its holdings in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 85.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,594 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Fortis were worth $54,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FTS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Desjardins initiated coverage on Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $46.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.33. Fortis Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.15 and a 12-month high of $50.06.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

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.