National Bank Financial Raises Earnings Estimates for Fortis

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Stock analysts at National Bank Financial upped their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Fortis in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 22nd. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.41 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.33. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.35 per share.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of FTS stock opened at $48.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.99. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis has a 1-year low of $38.15 and a 1-year high of $48.94.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 14.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.4324 per share. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Fortis by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Fortis by 286.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Fortis by 158,500.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Company 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.