Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,040,000 shares, a decline of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 8,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 868,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.3 days.

Fortis Stock Performance

Fortis stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $39.55. The stock had a trading volume of 434,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,448. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $36.30 and a fifty-two week high of $46.28. The company has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 13.22% and a return on equity of 7.00%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $0.4382 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This is a positive change from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 55.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Fortis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $60,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Fortis by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its stake in Fortis by 9.0% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.13.

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.