National Bank Financial Raises Earnings Estimates for Fortis

Fortis Inc. (TSE:FTS - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at National Bank Financial increased their FY2024 earnings estimates for Fortis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, January 6th. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny now expects that the company will earn $3.22 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $3.07. The consensus estimate for Fortis' current full-year earnings is $3.34 per share. National Bank Financial also issued estimates for Fortis' FY2025 earnings at $3.37 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.53 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.75 EPS.

FTS has been the subject of several other research reports. CIBC raised their target price on Fortis from C$63.00 to C$64.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America set a C$60.00 price objective on Fortis and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James cut shares of Fortis from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Fortis from C$62.00 to C$65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Fortis currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$60.89.

Fortis Stock Performance

Fortis stock traded down C$0.11 on Thursday, hitting C$60.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,464,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,787. Fortis has a one year low of C$51.02 and a one year high of C$63.75. The firm has a market cap of C$29.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 128.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$61.09 and a 200-day moving average price of C$59.21.

Insider Transactions at Fortis

In related news, Director Gary Joseph Smith sold 21,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$61.45, for a total value of C$1,334,543.75. Also, Senior Officer Keri Linda Glitch bought 450 shares of Fortis stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$61.41 per share, for a total transaction of C$27,634.59. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately C$27,634.59. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. 0.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Fortis Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Fortis's previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Fortis's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.12%.

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.