NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives $38.13 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.13.

Several research firms have weighed in on NI. Mizuho boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

NiSource Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $40.18 on Friday. NiSource has a 52-week low of $25.71 and a 52-week high of $40.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.74 and a 200 day moving average of $35.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 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.