National Bank Financial Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Analysts at National Bank Financial dropped their FY2024 earnings estimates for Fortis in a report issued on Wednesday, July 31st. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings of $2.28 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.34. 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 $2.40 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday.

Fortis Trading Up 1.9 %

FTS opened at $42.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.60. Fortis has a 1-year low of $36.30 and a 1-year high of $42.65. The company has a market cap of $21.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 13.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Fortis by 9.0% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 3,340 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 53.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Fortis by 123.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 81,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its position in Fortis by 0.5% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 83,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,253,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.77% of the company’s stock.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a $0.431 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.57%.

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.