Brokerages Set NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) PT at $37.50

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

NiSource Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:NI opened at $37.33 on Monday. NiSource has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 3.00%. 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 and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NI. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $748,000. Thomasville National Bank increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,850,000 after buying an additional 16,364 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in NiSource by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $3,068,000. 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.