NiSource (NYSE:NI) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $39.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.63.

NiSource Trading Up 2.1 %

NI opened at $35.13 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 65.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in NiSource by 7.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 29,055 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,658 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,036,000 after acquiring an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in NiSource by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,551,000 after acquiring an additional 20,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,923,000 after acquiring an additional 209,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.