Analysts Set NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Price Target at $32.43

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.43.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI opened at $34.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.67. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $22.86 and a fifty-two week high of $34.56.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,181,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,910,000 after acquiring an additional 10,489 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $70,090,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is 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.