Fortis (NYSE:FTS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• Fortis reported earnings of $0.55 per share, beating expectations of $0.51 by $0.04 with total revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.4448, reflecting a 3.6% yield and up from the previous $0.43.
• Several analysts have raised their ratings on Fortis, with a consensus price target of $72.00 and upgrades from "hold" to "moderate buy."

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The utilities provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.04, Zacks reports. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share.

Fortis Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FTS stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,908. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $25.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $47.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.37. Fortis has a 1-year low of $40.32 and a 1-year high of $51.45.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $0.4448 dividend. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Desjardins upgraded shares of Fortis from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortis in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Fortis stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 565,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 90,776 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Fortis worth $25,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.