NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 12-Month High at $34.24

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.24 and last traded at $34.24, with a volume of 203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NI. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.80 and a 200 day moving average of $29.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 792,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,033,000 after acquiring an additional 57,498 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 7.1% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after buying an additional 29,055 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 12.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after buying an additional 57,658 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in NiSource by 26.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,036,000 after acquiring an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth $9,686,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.