** Brokerage Mizuho raises price target on U.S. utility NiSource NI.N to $50 from $44

** The new PT represents 19.4% upside to stock's last close

** Brokerage says NiSource's partnership deal with Amazon AMZN.O related to the building of data center campuses in Northern Indiana cements its hyperscaler-driven utility lead

** Mizuho continues to see room for upside within this range and beyond if the project moves ahead of schedule or NI secures more deals from its roughly 6 gigawatts (GW) of additional opportunities

** "We believe the Amazon announcement, as well as associated ~$1bn of direct retail cost savings from the transaction, provide NI with the operational and political credibility to pursue additional deals," brokerage says ** 13 of 15 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 2 "hold", median PT is $47 - data complied by LSEG

** Up to last close, shares up 13.9% YTD

(Reporting by Varun Sahay in Bengaluru)

((Varun.sahay@thomsonreuters.com))