NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target Raised to $34.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $32.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $30.83.

NiSource Trading Up 1.0 %

NiSource stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $31.35. The stock had a trading volume of 4,434,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,260,353. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.98. NiSource has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $32.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 792,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,033,000 after purchasing an additional 57,498 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after buying an additional 29,055 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in NiSource by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after buying an additional 57,658 shares during the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $1,559,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in NiSource by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,036,000 after acquiring an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.