NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target Raised to $43.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

NI has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $39.74 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.33. The firm has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. NiSource has a one year low of $25.45 and a one year high of $39.99.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 67.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $219,977,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $301,427,000 after buying an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,124,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.