Wells Fargo & Company Raises NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target to $43.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on NI. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE NI opened at $39.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $18.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource has a 12 month low of $25.13 and a 12 month high of $39.88.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.88%.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.