Citigroup Inc. Raises Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 127,868 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.06% of Fortis worth $15,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth $291,400,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,414,298 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $262,828,000 after acquiring an additional 849,606 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Fortis by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,025,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,099,399,000 after acquiring an additional 759,772 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in Fortis by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,897,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $233,947,000 after acquiring an additional 351,619 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Fortis by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,224,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $296,614,000 after purchasing an additional 345,633 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $57.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.67. Fortis has a 1 year low of $43.19 and a 1 year high of $57.93.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on FTS shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

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.