NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $36.40 and last traded at $36.29, with a volume of 802110 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.53. 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 released its 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 return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 47.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,923,000 after purchasing an additional 209,451 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 131,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in NiSource by 2.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 394,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,039 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in NiSource by 12.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,658 shares during the period. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter worth $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.