Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Strong Earnings

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 6,876,745 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 1,026% from the previous session’s volume of 610,908 shares.The stock last traded at $45.36 and had previously closed at $44.32.

The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 14.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FTS. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Fortis in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James downgraded Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Code Waechter LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.51. The company has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50.

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.