NiSource Inc. NI is benefiting from a regulated structure, growing electricity and natural gas demand from customers, and cost-saving efforts under Project Apollo, which are supporting revenue and earnings growth. The company’s strategic capital investments support the energy transition, strengthen infrastructure, improve service reliability and drive long-term growth.
Let’s focus on the factors that make this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock a strong investment pick at the moment.
Projections for NI & Surprise History
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2026 and 2027 EPS is pinned at $2.05 and $2.26, indicating year-over-year growth of 7.89% and 10.10%, respectively.
NI’s long-term (three to five years) earnings growth rate is 6.11%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NI’s 2026 and 2027 sales is pinned at $6.94 billion and $7.28 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 4.93% and 5.04%, respectively.
NI surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, while meeting the estimate once and missing it once, delivering an average positive earnings surprise of 0.96%.
NI’s Stable Investments
The company’s systematic capital investment plans support renewable expansion and infrastructure modernization to meet growing data center demand. These investments advance its carbon-neutrality goals, improve efficiency, strengthen service reliability and support long-term growth.
The company plans to invest $28.6 billion between 2026 and 2030, including $21.0 billion in base investments and $7.6 billion in data center infrastructure. These investments are expected to support a 9-11% consolidated rate base growth through 2033.
NI’s Capital Return Program
NiSource has consistently enhanced shareholder value through dividend payments, reflecting stable earnings and strong cash flow. The company has consistently increased its quarterly dividend since 2021, highlighting its commitment to delivering growing shareholder returns.
NI has a dividend yield of 2.57% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s average of 1.34%. Currently, the company’s quarterly dividend is 30 cents per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.20 per share. The company targets 11-12% long-term annual shareholder returns and a 55-65% dividend payout ratio.
NI’s Debt Position
The debt-to-capital ratio measures how much a company relies on debt to finance its operations and indicates its financial leverage and long-term financial strength. NI’s total debt-to-capital is 58.43%, which is lower than the industry’s 60.71%, reflecting stronger financial stability and lower leverage risk.
NI’s time earned ratio (TIE) at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 2.8. The TIE ratio measures a company’s ability to meet interest obligations by showing how effectively operating earnings cover interest expenses, providing insight into long-term solvency and financial health.
Price Performance of NI
In the past six months, NiSource shares have rallied 6.4% compared with the industry’s 6% growth.
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Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks from the same Industry are Ameren AEE, Duke Energy DUK and Evergy EVRG. All the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
AEE, DUK and EVRG have dividend yields of 2.66%, 3.37% and 3.22%, respectively, which are better than the Zacks S&P 500 Composite’s yield of 1.34%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ameren, Duke Energy, and Evergy 2026 EPS are pegged at $5.38, $6.71, and $4.25, suggesting year-over-year growth of 6.96%, 6.34%, and 10.97%, respectively.
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NiSource, Inc (NI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Duke Energy Corporation (DUK): Free Stock Analysis Report
Evergy Inc. (EVRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).