Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $4.91 Million Holdings in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Fortis were worth $4,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in Fortis during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Fortis by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:FTS opened at $44.92 on Friday. Fortis Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.86 and a 52-week high of $46.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.68.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 72.03%.

Fortis Profile

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.