Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Fortis Inc (FTS)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Fortis Inc (NYSE:FTS) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 459,836 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 236,117 shares during the quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Fortis worth $15,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FTS. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis in the third quarter valued at $90,426,000. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its position in Fortis by 1,769.6% in the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,495,000 after purchasing an additional 978,184 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fortis in the third quarter worth about $31,202,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Fortis by 7.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 13,240,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $429,249,000 after purchasing an additional 949,811 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Fortis in the third quarter worth about $23,530,000. Institutional investors own 50.93% of the company’s stock.

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Shares of FTS stock opened at $36.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Fortis Inc has a 12 month low of $30.88 and a 12 month high of $36.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.22.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.19). Fortis had a return on equity of 6.43% and a net margin of 13.13%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortis Inc will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.73%.

A number of analysts recently commented on FTS shares. TD Securities lowered Fortis from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 29th. ValuEngine upgraded Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Saturday, February 2nd. National Bank Financial reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Fortis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

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Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 422,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 96,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 2,834 megawatts (MW), including 64 MW of solar capacity.

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