NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives $41.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.49. The company had a trading volume of 6,150,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,139,624. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $39.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource has a 12 month low of $27.83 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.