Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Position Trimmed by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Fortis were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Fortis by 22.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 24,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Fortis by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Fortis by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 26,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,333,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 45.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 510,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,266,000 after buying an additional 159,068 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fortis by 32.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 212,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,540,000 after buying an additional 52,248 shares during the last quarter. 50.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $40.38 on Monday. Fortis Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.30 and a 12 month high of $46.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.437 per share. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on FTS. StockNews.com lowered shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Fortis from $38.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Fortis from $61.50 to $60.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Fortis from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.