Fortis (FTS) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Wednesday

Fortis (TSE:FTS) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Wednesday, May 1st. Analysts expect Fortis to post earnings of C$0.92 per share for the quarter.

Fortis (TSE:FTS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The company reported C$0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of C$0.72. The firm had revenue of C$2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$3.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 13.66% and a return on equity of 7.41%.

Fortis Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FTS stock opened at C$53.38 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$53.10 and its 200-day moving average price is C$54.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.76. The stock has a market cap of C$26.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. Fortis has a twelve month low of C$49.82 and a twelve month high of C$62.00.

Fortis Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Fortis’s payout ratio is 76.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brian Slocum purchased 1,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. In other news, Senior Officer Ronald Hinsley sold 972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$38.79, for a total transaction of C$37,706.21. Also, Director Brian Slocum bought 1,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$39.18 per share, for a total transaction of C$73,971.65. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 2,851 shares of company stock worth $111,115. Company insiders own 0.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Fortis from C$53.00 to C$50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$49.00 to C$50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Fortis from C$59.00 to C$56.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of Fortis from C$52.00 to C$55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Fortis from C$58.50 to C$58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$56.77.

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.