National Bank Financial Raises Earnings Estimates for Fortis

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial lifted their FY2025 EPS estimates for Fortis in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 22nd. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.41 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.33. The consensus estimate for Fortis' current full-year earnings is $2.35 per share.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share.

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Fortis in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Fortis Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE FTS traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.16. 106,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 625,406. Fortis has a twelve month low of $38.15 and a twelve month high of $49.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortis by 724.3% in the fourth 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Fortis during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fortis by 286.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fortis by 111.7% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.03%.

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.