Q3 2024 Earnings Estimate for Fortis Inc. Issued By Raymond James (NYSE:FTS)

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Equities research analysts at Raymond James lowered their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Fortis in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 1st. Raymond James analyst D. Quezada now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $0.57 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.58. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.37 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for Fortis’ Q1 2025 earnings at $0.68 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.42 EPS.

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

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE:FTS opened at $39.91 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.95. The firm has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.67. Fortis has a one year low of $36.30 and a one year high of $46.28.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortis

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTS. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortis during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortis in the 3rd quarter valued at $96,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Fortis by 111.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in Fortis by 9.0% during the first 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.4382 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This is an increase from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is 55.17%.

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.