NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target Raised to $45.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price objective upped by research analysts at UBS Group from $40.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.33% from the company’s previous close.

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

NiSource Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.36. 1,062,435 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,669,022. NiSource has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.58.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 3.5% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 23,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth approximately $798,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 21.2% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 121,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,200,000 after buying an additional 21,163 shares during the period. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 10.0% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 11,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.