Fortis (FTS) Competitors

Hydro One (TSE:H) and Fortis (TSE:FTS) are both large-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, community ranking, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, valuation and risk.

Which has more risk & volatility, H or FTS?

Hydro One has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fortis has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, H or FTS?

Fortis has higher revenue and earnings than Hydro One. Fortis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hydro One, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hydro One	C$8.37B	3.76	C$1.14B	C$1.90	27.66
Fortis	C$11.41B	2.92	C$1.66B	C$3.37	19.98

Does the media favor H or FTS?

In the previous week, Hydro One and Hydro One both had 13 articles in the media. Fortis' average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat Hydro One's score of 0.53 indicating that Fortis is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Hydro One	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Fortis	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer H or FTS?

Hydro One currently has a consensus target price of C$46.25, indicating a potential downside of 11.82%. Fortis has a consensus target price of C$63.14, indicating a potential downside of 6.21%. Given Fortis' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fortis is more favorable than Hydro One.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hydro One	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Fortis	2 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75

Is H or FTS a better dividend stock?

Hydro One pays an annual dividend of C$1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Fortis pays an annual dividend of C$2.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Hydro One pays out 66.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fortis pays out 73.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer H or FTS?

Fortis received 236 more outperform votes than Hydro One when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.27% of users gave Fortis an outperform vote while only 63.66% of users gave Hydro One an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Hydro One	Outperform Votes 487 63.66%	Underperform Votes 278 36.34%
Fortis	Outperform Votes 723 66.27%	Underperform Votes 368 33.73%

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of H or FTS?

22.1% of Hydro One shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.4% of Fortis shares are owned by institutional investors. 47.1% of Hydro One shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Fortis shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is H or FTS more profitable?

Fortis has a net margin of 14.53% compared to Hydro One's net margin of 13.59%. Hydro One's return on equity of 9.58% beat Fortis' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hydro One	13.59%	9.58%	3.57%
Fortis	14.53%	7.48%	3.09%

Summary

Fortis beats Hydro One on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.