Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 654,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,393 shares during the period. Fortis makes up approximately 0.6% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Fortis were worth $27,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FTS. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Fortis by 724.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Fortis by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Fortis by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of Fortis stock opened at $45.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.35 and a 200 day moving average of $43.70. Fortis Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.86 and a 12 month high of $46.06.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.