Earnings Previews: Ballard Power, NiSource, Palantir Technologies

Analysts are bullish on NiSource stock. Of 13 brokerages covering it, 10 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating while the rest rate the shares at Hold. At a share price of around $25.60, the implied gain based on a median price target of $31.00 is 21%. At the high price target of $34.00, the upside potential is about 32.8%.

NiSource is expected to report third-quarter revenue of $1.03 billion, down 13.1% sequentially but up 9.1% year over year. Analysts are forecasting EPS of $0.10, down 12.9% sequentially and down a penny year over year. For the 2022 fiscal year, analysts are forecasting EPS of $1.45, up 5.8%, on sales of $5.33 billion, up about 8.7%.

The stock trades at 17.7 times expected 2022 EPS, 16.6 times estimated 2023 earnings of $1.55 and 14.8 times estimated 2024 earnings of $1.73 per share. NiSource’s 52-week range is $23.78 to $32.59. The company pays an annual dividend of $0.94 (yield of 3.64%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 4.73%.

Palantir Technologies

Over the past 12 months, shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) have declined by more than 68%. Since posting a 52-week high nearly one year ago, shares have declined by nearly 70%. That is basically double the 35.5% decline in software stocks over the past year.

In late September, Bloomberg reported that the company had a “secret plan” to buy up smaller companies that had relationships with the United Kingdom’s National Health Service in order to avoid “political resistance” to the data mining company’s stealthy efforts. The company responded that the email Bloomberg used as its source included “regrettable” language.

Of 14 analysts covering the stock, just four have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and six have Hold ratings. At a share price of around $8.20, the upside potential based on a median price target of $10.00 is 18%. At the high price target of $20.00, the potential upside is 59%.

The consensus third-quarter revenue estimate is $474.96 million, up 0.4% sequentially and by 21.1% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.02, up from a loss per share of $0.01 in the prior quarter and down 50% year over year. For the full 2022 fiscal year, estimates call for EPS of $0.05, 62.4%, on sales of $1.9 billion, up 23.2%.

The stock trades at 168.3 times expected 2022 EPS, 51.0 times estimated 2023 earnings of $0.16 and 33.0 times estimated 2024 earnings of $0.25 per share. Palantir stock’s 52-week range is $6.44 to $27.11, and the company does not pay a dividend. The total shareholder return for the past year is negative 68.5%.

Originally published at 24/7 Wall St.

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