NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.14.

NI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $28.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,310,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,255,894. The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $29.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.11%.

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.