Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on FTS. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of FTS stock opened at $58.16 on Friday. Fortis has a 52-week low of $43.28 and a 52-week high of $58.50. The stock has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.68 and its 200-day moving average is $52.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.51.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.54 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.24% and a net margin of 14.24%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the first quarter valued at about $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Fortis by 19.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,760,000 after acquiring an additional 90,776 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Fortis by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 53,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,536,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Fortis by 157.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at about $528,000. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

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.