Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 43,774 Shares of Fortis $FTS

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Fortis (NYSE:FTS) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 621,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,774 shares during the period. Fortis makes up 0.7% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.12% of Fortis worth $34,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FTS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the fourth quarter worth $335,980,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,666,481 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 4,662.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 986,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,244,000 after purchasing an additional 965,833 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Fortis by 60.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,508,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,270,000 after purchasing an additional 947,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortis by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,564,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $445,335,000 after purchasing an additional 677,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $57.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.64. Fortis has a twelve month low of $46.66 and a twelve month high of $58.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 14.21%.The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on FTS shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, April 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Fortis Profile

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.