Key Takeaways Volatility has returned to Wall Street amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, with the United States gradually getting dragged into it. Although the United States has not yet been directly drawn into the conflict, President Donald Trump is weighing whether to strike Iran. Given the worsening situation, it would be ideal to invest in safe-haven defensive stocks from the utility sector such as Atmos Energy Corporation (ATO) , Fortis, Inc. (FTS) , MDU Resources Group, Inc. (MDU) and Ni ...

The market expects Fortis (FTS) to deliver flat earnings compared to the year-ago quarter on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended March 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be releas ...

Core Viewpoint - NorthWestern (NWE) reported quarterly earnings of $1.22 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 per share, and showing an increase from $1.09 per share a year ago, indicating a 5.17% earnings surprise [1] Financial Performance - The company posted revenues of $466.6 million for the quarter ended March 2025, which was 4.17% below the Zacks Consensus Estimate and a decrease from $475.3 million year-over-year [2] - Over the last four quarters, NorthWestern has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times and topped consensus revenue estimates three times [2] Stock Performance - NorthWestern shares have increased approximately 10% since the beginning of the year, contrasting with a -6% decline in the S&P 500 [3] Future Outlook - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, as it includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters and any recent changes to these expectations [4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is $0.66 on revenues of $338.33 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is $3.58 on revenues of $1.58 billion [7] Industry Context - The Utility - Electric Power industry, to which NorthWestern belongs, is currently ranked in the top 14% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable outlook compared to lower-ranked industries [8]