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

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company.

NiSource Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:NI opened at $36.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.84. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ING Groep NV bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $748,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in NiSource by 8.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,757,000 after purchasing an additional 144,197 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $798,000. 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.