NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives $31.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $33.06 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $30.76 and a 200-day moving average of $28.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $22.86 and a fifty-two week high of $33.13.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth $47,000. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 19,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.