Merrillville, Indiana-based NiSource Inc. (NI) is an energy holding company that provides natural gas, electricity, and other products and services in the U.S. Valued at a market cap of $17.6 billion, the company serves nearly four million natural gas and electric customers across six states under its NiSource, NIPSCO and Columbia Gas brands. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q4 earnings results on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
Ahead of this event, analysts project the energy company to report a profit of $0.47 per share, down 11.3% from $0.53 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has a solid track record of consistently beating Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in the last four quarters. Its earnings of $0.20 per share in the previous quarter outpaced the forecasted figure by a massive margin of 42.9%.
For fiscal 2024, analysts expect NI to report an EPS of $1.73, up 8.1% from a profit of $1.60 in fiscal 2023.
Shares of NiSource have rallied 47.6% over the past 52 weeks, significantly outpacing both the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 25.5% rise, and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLU) 29.1% return over the same time frame.
Shares of NI surged 2.1% following its Q3 earnings release, despite delivering a mixed performance on Oct. 30. The company’s revenue improved 3.8% year-over-year to $1.1 billion but missed the consensus estimates by 1.6%. Nonetheless, its bottom line climbed 5.3% from the year-ago quarter to $0.20 per share and outpaced the forecasted figure by a noteworthy margin of 42.9%. A modest increase in the company’s gas distribution and electric sales led to its top and bottom-line growth.
NiSource reaffirmed its full-year 2024 earnings in the band of $1.70 per share -1.74 per share which came in below the Wall Street estimates of $1.73 per share.
All 14 Wall Street analysts are strongly optimistic about NI’s stock, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. The mean price target for NiSource is $38.81 which indicates a slight 2.7% potential upside from the current levels.
- Does Elon Musk Have a Game Plan for Tesla Stock? 5 Things to Watch Ahead of TSLA’s Q4 Earnings.
- This ‘Strong Buy’-Rated Stock Could Be an Underrated Quantum Computing Bet
- Is Apple Stock a Buy Before Q1 Earnings?
- 3 ‘Strong Buy’-Rated Stocks to Scoop Up on Trump’s Stargate AI News
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
