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Reasons to Add NiSource (NI) Stock to Your Portfolio Now
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NiSource’s (NI - Free Report) strategic investments in infrastructure upgrades will allow it to provide quality services to its expanding customer base. Given its growth opportunities, NI is a solid investment option in the utility sector.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment option at the moment.
Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2024 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.6% to $1.71 in the past 90 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s total revenues for 2024 stands at $6.02 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 9.43%.
The company’s (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 7.15%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 5.56% in the last four quarters.
Return on Equity
Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing funds to generate higher returns. Currently, NiSource’s ROE is 10.11%, higher than the industry’s average of 8.76%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing funds more constructively than its peers in the utility electric power industry.
Solvency
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, NI’s total debt to capital was 58.23%, much better than the industry’s average of 62.21%.
The time to interest earned ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 was 2.7. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
Dividend History
NiSource has been increasing shareholders’ value through dividend payments. In January 2024, NI announced a quarterly dividend of 26.5 cents per share and an annual dividend of $1.06 per share. NI’s current dividend yield is 3.98%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s yield of 1.31%.
Systematic Investments
Strategic capital investments are making NI’s infrastructure stronger and more resilient. It invested $2.7 billion in 2023. NI expects its capital expenditure base plan in the range of $3.3-$3.5 billion for 2024 and a total of $16 billion for 2024-2028. These systematic investments can drive the rate base growth of 8-10% during 2024-2028.
Price Performance
In the past three months, the stock has returned 1.8% against the industry’s 6.1% decline.
IDA’s long-term earnings growth rate is 4.38%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 12.73% in the last four quarters.
DTE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DTE Energy’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $6.70, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 16.93%.
AGR’s long-term earnings growth rate is 3.63%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avangrid’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $2.25, which suggests year-over-year growth of 7.66%.
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Reasons to Add NiSource (NI) Stock to Your Portfolio Now
NiSource’s (NI - Free Report) strategic investments in infrastructure upgrades will allow it to provide quality services to its expanding customer base. Given its growth opportunities, NI is a solid investment option in the utility sector.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment option at the moment.
Growth Projections
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2024 earnings per share (EPS) has increased 0.6% to $1.71 in the past 90 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s total revenues for 2024 stands at $6.02 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 9.43%.
The company’s (three to five years) earnings growth is pegged at 7.15%. It delivered an average earnings surprise of 5.56% in the last four quarters.
Return on Equity
Return on equity (ROE) indicates how efficiently a company has been utilizing funds to generate higher returns. Currently, NiSource’s ROE is 10.11%, higher than the industry’s average of 8.76%. This indicates that the company has been utilizing funds more constructively than its peers in the utility electric power industry.
Solvency
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, NI’s total debt to capital was 58.23%, much better than the industry’s average of 62.21%.
The time to interest earned ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 was 2.7. The ratio, being greater than one, reflects the company’s ability to meet future interest obligations without difficulties.
Dividend History
NiSource has been increasing shareholders’ value through dividend payments. In January 2024, NI announced a quarterly dividend of 26.5 cents per share and an annual dividend of $1.06 per share. NI’s current dividend yield is 3.98%, better than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s yield of 1.31%.
Systematic Investments
Strategic capital investments are making NI’s infrastructure stronger and more resilient. It invested $2.7 billion in 2023. NI expects its capital expenditure base plan in the range of $3.3-$3.5 billion for 2024 and a total of $16 billion for 2024-2028. These systematic investments can drive the rate base growth of 8-10% during 2024-2028.
Price Performance
In the past three months, the stock has returned 1.8% against the industry’s 6.1% decline.
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Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked stocks from the same industry are IDACORP (IDA - Free Report) , DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) and Avangrid (AGR - Free Report) , each holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
IDA’s long-term earnings growth rate is 4.38%. The company delivered an average earnings surprise of 12.73% in the last four quarters.
DTE’s long-term earnings growth rate is 6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DTE Energy’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $6.70, which implies a year-over-year improvement of 16.93%.
AGR’s long-term earnings growth rate is 3.63%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Avangrid’s 2024 EPS is pegged at $2.25, which suggests year-over-year growth of 7.66%.