NiSource (NYSE:NI) Sets New 12-Month High at $33.58

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.58 and last traded at $33.56, with a volume of 97294 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NI. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

NiSource Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.86, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.28%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.