Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) Short Interest Update

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,830,000 shares, an increase of 40.4% from the January 31st total of 10,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 561,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 26.4 days.

Fortis Price Performance

FTS stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.19. 1,188,808 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 572,029. The company has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.48. Fortis has a 52-week low of $36.86 and a 52-week high of $46.06. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Fortis will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FTS shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Fortis by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Fortis by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Fortis by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Fortis by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. 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.