NiSource (NYSE:NI) Reaches New 12-Month High at $34.57

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $34.57 and last traded at $34.45, with a volume of 56613 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 123.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,138 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,955,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,432,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,842 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in NiSource by 3,195.5% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,811,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,094,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in NiSource by 68.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,977 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.