Versor Investments LP Trims Stock Position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Versor Investments LP cut its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,359 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Fortis were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Fortis by 78.7% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortis during the first quarter worth about $69,000. 50.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS stock opened at $40.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.71. Fortis Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.30 and a 1 year high of $46.28. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.52.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a $0.437 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Fortis from $38.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. Raymond James dropped their price target on Fortis from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their price target on Fortis from $61.50 to $60.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.93.

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 443,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 102,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,328 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.