NiSource (NYSE:NI) Research Coverage Started at Mizuho

Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $33.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $29.83.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $30.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NiSource has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $30.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 792,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,033,000 after acquiring an additional 57,498 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,049,000. HF Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,559,000. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $9,686,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after buying an additional 31,592 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.