NiSource (NYSE:NI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

NiSource (NYSE:NI) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis.

NiSource Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE NI traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.49. 3,137,095 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,035,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.03. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.48. The firm has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 64.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

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.