NiSource (NYSE:NI) Announces Earnings Results

NiSource (NYSE:NI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. NiSource updated its FY 2024 guidance to 1.700-1.740 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $1.70-1.74 EPS.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.71. 1,720,670 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,267,926. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $29.17. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.46.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 72.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.43.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.