Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NI opened at $34.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a PEG 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.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 64.24%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.