Raymond James Comments on Fortis Inc.'s Q1 2024 Earnings (TSE:FTS)

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Free Report) - Raymond James decreased their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Fortis in a report released on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James analyst D. Quezada now expects that the company will post earnings of $0.88 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.92. The consensus estimate for Fortis' current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FTS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Fortis from C$60.00 to C$56.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. CIBC decreased their price target on Fortis from C$59.00 to C$56.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of C$56.77.

Fortis Price Performance

Shares of FTS traded up C$0.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting C$54.05. 2,578,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,567,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.68. Fortis has a 12-month low of C$49.82 and a 12-month high of C$62.00. The company has a market cap of C$26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. The stock's 50-day moving average price is C$53.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$54.17.

Fortis (TSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$0.72. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 13.66%. The firm had revenue of C$2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of C$3.22 billion.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. In other news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Also, Director Brian Slocum bought 1,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 2,851 shares of company stock valued at $111,115. Corporate insiders own 0.04% of the company's stock.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Fortis's payout ratio is 76.13%.

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.