NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High at $33.22

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.22 and last traded at $33.18, with a volume of 408838 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

NiSource Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.