Valued at a market cap of $22.9 billion, NiSource Inc. (NI) is a utility company that provides natural gas and electric services. The Merrillville, Indiana-based company is scheduled to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings for 2026 in the near future.
Before this event, analysts expect this utility company to report a profit of $1.03 per share, up 5.1% from $0.98 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has topped Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion. Its earnings of $0.51 per share in the previous quarter outpaced the forecasted figure by 4.1%.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect NI to report a profit of $2.05 per share, representing a 7.9% increase from $1.90 per share in fiscal 2025. Furthermore, its EPS is expected to grow 8.8% year-over-year to $2.23 in fiscal 2027.
NI has gained 22.5% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 33.5% return over the same time frame. However, it has outpaced the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLU) 17.7% uptick over the same time period.
On Feb. 11, NI shares plunged marginally after reporting its Q4 results. The company’s adjusted EPS of $0.51 surpassed analyst expectations of $0.49. Furthermore, it projects full-year adjusted EPS to be in the range of $2.02 to $2.07.
Wall Street analysts are highly optimistic about NI’s stock, with a "Strong Buy" rating overall. Among 16 analysts covering the stock, 12 recommend "Strong Buy," and four suggest "Hold." The mean price target for NI is $49.27, indicating a 2.6% potential upside from the current levels.
