NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives $38.13 Average Target Price from Analysts

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.89.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

NiSource Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. NiSource has a 1-year low of $26.26 and a 1-year high of $41.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.72. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 39,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 9,626 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,842,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 400.8% in the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 125,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,602,000 after buying an additional 100,193 shares during the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of NiSource by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 256,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,421,000 after acquiring an additional 58,471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.