Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Now Covered by Analysts at Desjardins

Desjardins began coverage on shares of Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider's stock. Desjardins also issued estimates for Fortis' Q1 2025 earnings at $0.69 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.62 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.63 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.46 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.44 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.61 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $2.74 EPS, FY2028 earnings at $2.89 EPS and FY2029 earnings at $3.05 EPS.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE:FTS traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $48.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 587,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,307. 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 has a 52-week low of $38.15 and a 52-week high of $50.06. The company has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day moving average is $46.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.31.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortis will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's payout ratio is presently 71.73%.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortis in the first quarter worth $28,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fortis by 286.7% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. 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.