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

NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.1111.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays set a $45.00 price objective on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $345,040.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,983.11. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tower Bridge Advisors lifted its holdings in NiSource by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 21,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $915,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,769 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.6% in the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 14,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.7% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.2%

NI stock opened at $43.94 on Friday. NiSource has a one year low of $35.64 and a one year high of $44.95. The firm has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.52.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.49%.

About NiSource

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.