Barclays Raises NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target to $38.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $35.00 to $38.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.29.

NiSource Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE NI opened at $35.26 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.03%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after acquiring an additional 991,336 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,636,000 after purchasing an additional 44,598 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in NiSource by 1.4% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,908,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,415,000 after buying an additional 67,697 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 68.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,407,000 after buying an additional 1,353,977 shares in 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.