NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.17.

NI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in NiSource by 161.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.58% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $28.45 on Tuesday. NiSource has a 12-month low of $23.78 and a 12-month high of $32.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $27.89 and a 200-day moving average of $27.30.

NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. NiSource had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.03%.

NiSource Company Profile

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NiSource, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. It operates under the Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations segments. The Gas Distribution Operations segment provides natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.