Fiera Capital Corp Buys 202,484 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 936,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 202,484 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned about 0.19% of Fortis worth $47,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 2,119.1% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Fortis by 157.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $119,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:FTS opened at $56.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis has a 52 week low of $43.19 and a 52 week high of $57.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.92 and a 200 day moving average of $51.41.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.03. Fortis had a net margin of 14.24% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.