Analysts Set NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) PT at $37.50

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has earned an average rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.50.

NI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho upped their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

NiSource Price Performance

NiSource stock opened at $36.70 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.96 and its 200 day moving average is $34.70. NiSource has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.83. The firm has a market cap of $17.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after buying an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 53.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,078 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,162,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 118.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.