Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Purchases Shares of 80,900 Fortis $FTS

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 80,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,103,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the first quarter worth approximately $311,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Fortis by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 565,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,760,000 after buying an additional 90,776 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new position in Fortis during the 2nd quarter worth $2,207,000. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 2.2% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 76,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,662,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FTS. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE FTS opened at $53.63 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Fortis has a 1 year low of $41.24 and a 1 year high of $53.98.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.05% and a net margin of 14.18%. As a group, research analysts expect that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.83%.

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.