Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Shares Acquired by Gold Investment Management Ltd.

Gold Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 389 shares during the quarter. Fortis comprises 1.3% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Fortis were worth $3,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in Fortis by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 109,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,517,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Fortis by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 10,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its position in Fortis by 0.3% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 132,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,240,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.13.

Fortis Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:FTS traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.82. 495,099 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 752,308. The stock has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Fortis Inc. has a twelve month low of $36.30 and a twelve month high of $43.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.70 and a 200 day moving average of $39.66.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.43 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.02% and a net margin of 13.66%. On average, equities analysts expect that Fortis Inc. will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.