BMO Capital Markets Raises NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target to $32.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price target lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI increased their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an outperform rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $30.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $30.67 on Tuesday. NiSource has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $31.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.46. The company has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its position in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in NiSource by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 11.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.