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

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.43.

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $34.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $34.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.74.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NiSource will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business 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 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after buying an additional 29,055 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in NiSource by 12.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after purchasing an additional 57,658 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 26.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,036,000 after purchasing an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at $9,686,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 31,592 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently 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.