StockNews.com Upgrades Fortis (NYSE:FTS) to Hold

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $40.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.60. Fortis has a one year low of $36.30 and a one year high of $43.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.01.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 13.66%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in Fortis by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 109,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,517,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 81,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortis by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

About Fortis

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.