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

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several brokerages have issued reports on NI. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

NI opened at $36.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.