NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

NiSource Price Performance

NI opened at $37.75 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.60. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.83.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 64.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.