Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Cuts Holdings in Fortis $FTS

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lessened its position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 720,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 32,341 shares during the period. Fortis makes up 1.1% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $41,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $442,633,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the fourth quarter worth $335,980,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the second quarter worth $334,727,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at $311,146,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Fortis during the 2nd quarter valued at $257,370,000. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.33.

Fortis Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:FTS opened at $55.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.56. Fortis has a one year low of $48.64 and a one year high of $59.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.64. The stock has a market cap of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.43.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 14.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Fortis’s payout ratio is 73.68%.

About Fortis

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.