Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Stock Position Decreased by Amundi

Amundi cut its stake in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,413,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 180,584 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.28% of Fortis worth $58,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Fortis in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $44.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.86 and a 12 month high of $46.06.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Fortis 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.