Fortis $FTS Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.

Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 382,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,668 shares during the quarter. Fortis makes up about 1.8% of Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. owned 0.08% of Fortis worth $18,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 497,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Fortis by 35.0% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 180,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,594,000 after purchasing an additional 46,805 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Fortis by 172.5% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 32,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 20,889 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in Fortis by 7.0% in the second quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 101,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,846,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Fortis by 3.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 3,283 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut Fortis from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $52.44 on Friday. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $52.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $26.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.38.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.02). Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s payout ratio is 75.83%.

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.