NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on NI. Mizuho raised their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in NiSource by 53.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in NiSource by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $34,419,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after purchasing an additional 991,336 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource has a 52-week low of $24.80 and a 52-week high of $37.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.76.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current 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.