Analysts Issue Forecasts for Fortis’ Q3 Earnings (NYSE:FTS)

Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS) – Analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Fortis in a research report issued on Wednesday, October 23rd. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $0.59 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.35 per share.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. Fortis had a return on equity of 7.04% and a net margin of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on FTS. UBS Group raised shares of Fortis to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortis from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Fortis in a research report on Friday, September 20th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock.

Fortis Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE FTS opened at $43.80 on Friday. Fortis has a 12-month low of $36.86 and a 12-month high of $46.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $21.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.47.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.615 per share. This represents a $2.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. This is an increase from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Fortis’s payout ratio is 78.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTS. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Fortis by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 9,071,484 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $352,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,728 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 31.4% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,142,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $83,259,000 after purchasing an additional 512,103 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Fortis by 2.3% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 12,151,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,164,000 after purchasing an additional 270,417 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Fortis by 42.6% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 782,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,418,000 after buying an additional 233,743 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Fortis by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,072,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $793,049,000 after buying an additional 229,972 shares during the last quarter. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.