NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives $35.50 Average PT from Analysts

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased 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 Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI opened at $34.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $33.56 and a 200 day moving average of $30.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

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.