Raymond James Research Analysts Decrease Earnings Estimates for Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Stock analysts at Raymond James lowered their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Fortis in a report issued on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James analyst D. Quezada now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.64 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.68. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.37 per share.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.00% and a net margin of 13.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.13.

Fortis Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $39.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.96. Fortis has a one year low of $36.30 and a one year high of $46.28.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortis in the third quarter worth $41,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Fortis in the 1st quarter valued at about $60,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Fortis in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.4382 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.22%.

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.