UBS Group Boosts NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target to $45.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Free Report) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.89.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.85. 1,013,545 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,500,172. NiSource has a 1 year low of $26.25 and a 1 year high of $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.67. The stock has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

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NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its position 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 483,491 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $3,068,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by 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.