NiSource (NYSE:NI) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $38.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NiSource traded as high as $35.21 and last traded at $35.20, with a volume of 897222 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.77.

NI has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 11.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in NiSource by 0.7% during the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.6 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.65. 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 market cap of $15.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

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.