NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price boosted by Mizuho from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on NI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

NiSource stock opened at $34.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a 1 year low of $24.58 and a 1 year high of $35.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.09.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 64.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 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.