NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target Increased to $38.00 by Analysts at Barclays

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $35.00 to $38.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.93 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.54. NiSource has a one year low of $24.58 and a one year high of $35.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 11.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.4% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 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.