Raymond James Issues Negative Estimate for Fortis Earnings

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Raymond James dropped their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for Fortis in a report released on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James analyst T. Genzebu now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.60. Raymond James currently has a “Market Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.29 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for Fortis’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.64 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.45 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.63 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.29 EPS.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS opened at $42.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Fortis has a 12-month low of $36.86 and a 12-month high of $46.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.01% and a net margin of 14.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 724.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Fortis in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in shares of Fortis in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Fortis by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Fortis by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.4382 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Fortis’s payout ratio is 79.41%.

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.