Raymond James Financial Boosts Earnings Estimates for Fortis

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) – Equities researchers at Raymond James Financial lifted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Fortis in a research note issued on Tuesday, November 4th. Raymond James Financial analyst T. Genzebu now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.50 for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.49. Raymond James Financial has a “Outperform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.35 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. National Bankshares reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday. Desjardins raised Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Fortis in a report on Monday, October 6th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Fortis from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Fortis Stock Up 1.1%

FTS opened at $51.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. Fortis has a 52 week low of $40.32 and a 52 week high of $52.47.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 7.24%.

Institutional Trading of Fortis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTS. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Fortis during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortis during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fortis by 2,119.1% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Fortis in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Fortis by 157.3% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Fortis’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.75%.

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.