Fortis $FTS Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,128,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 64,293 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.42% of Fortis worth $110,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 963,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,859,000 after purchasing an additional 25,809 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 313,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,913,000 after acquiring an additional 127,868 shares during the period. Coleford Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,516,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 813,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,896 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Fortis by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 175,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,150,000 after acquiring an additional 50,632 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE FTS opened at $55.88 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.60. Fortis has a 12 month low of $46.46 and a 12 month high of $58.78. The company has a market capitalization of $28.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a net margin of 14.21% and a return on equity of 7.25%. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.00.

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.