Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $6.36 Million Position in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 153,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,087 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $6,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortis during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Fortis in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Fortis by 34.1% in the fourth 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 boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $46.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. Fortis Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.86 and a twelve month high of $48.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortis has an average rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Company 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.