NiSource (NYSE:NI) Announces Earnings Results

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $35.16. 3,270,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,039,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company's 50 day moving average is $34.10 and its 200 day moving average is $30.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a one year low of $24.58 and a one year high of $35.48.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.63.

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.