NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $38.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. NiSource traded as high as $35.21 and last traded at $35.20, with a volume of 897222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.77.

NI has been the topic of several other reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.2 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $15.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

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.