Cidel Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Fortis $FTS

Cidel Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 44.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 537,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 425,520 shares during the quarter. Fortis makes up approximately 2.0% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Fortis worth $27,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 4,662.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 986,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,244,000 after buying an additional 965,833 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Fortis by 60.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,508,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,270,000 after acquiring an additional 947,079 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,593,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,196,727,000 after acquiring an additional 568,326 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis by 3.7% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,163,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $461,748,000 after purchasing an additional 326,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis by 63.3% in the second quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 719,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,321,000 after purchasing an additional 278,640 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:FTS opened at $56.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Fortis has a 12 month low of $43.28 and a 12 month high of $58.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.93.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid 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 4.5%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.00.

Fortis 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.