NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.29.

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $35.31 on Friday. NiSource has a 52-week low of $24.58 and a 52-week high of $35.32. The company has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.65.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in NiSource by 68.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,407,000 after buying an additional 1,353,977 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL acquired a new stake in NiSource in the first quarter worth about $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after acquiring an additional 991,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 118.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after buying an additional 876,033 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About NiSource

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.