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

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

NI has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $34.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.09. NiSource has a twelve month low of $24.58 and a twelve month high of $35.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. 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.