National Bank Financial Expects Stronger Earnings for Fortis

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial lifted their FY2024 earnings estimates for Fortis in a research note issued on Monday, January 6th. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny now expects that the utilities provider will earn $2.24 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.21. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.32 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Fortis’ FY2025 earnings at $2.35 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.46 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.61 EPS.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 7.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Fortis in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

NYSE:FTS opened at $40.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.50. Fortis has a fifty-two week low of $36.86 and a fifty-two week high of $46.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.00.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.4382 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Fortis’s payout ratio is currently 76.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTS. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Fortis by 34.1% in the fourth 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. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at $149,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in Fortis during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

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.