Scotiabank Weighs in on Fortis’ FY2027 Earnings (NYSE:FTS)

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) – Stock analysts at Scotiabank raised their FY2027 EPS estimates for shares of Fortis in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank analyst R. Hope now expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $2.73 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.69. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Fortis’ current full-year earnings is $2.56 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on FTS. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fortis from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on Fortis from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce cut shares of Fortis from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $50.00 target price on shares of Fortis in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.33.

Fortis Price Performance

NYSE:FTS opened at $55.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64 and a beta of 0.43. Fortis has a 52-week low of $48.64 and a 52-week high of $59.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.00 and a 200 day moving average of $56.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.01. Fortis had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortis

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fortis in the 4th quarter worth $335,980,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in Fortis by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 19,898,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,034,545,000 after buying an additional 1,666,481 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 4.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 35,241,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,966,121,000 after buying an additional 1,557,443 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Fortis by 60.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,508,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $127,270,000 after buying an additional 947,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Fortis by 26.0% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,951,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $220,277,000 after buying an additional 815,349 shares during the period. 57.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortis Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Fortis’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.52%.

Fortis Company Profile

Fortis Inc is a Canadian diversified electric and gas utility holding company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a portfolio of regulated utility subsidiaries, the company develops, owns and operates electricity and natural gas transmission, distribution and generation assets. Fortis serves customers across multiple jurisdictions in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on the delivery of safe, reliable energy to residential, commercial and industrial users.

The company’s core activities include operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution networks, ownership of generation facilities, and investment in grid modernization and system resilience.