Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Mizuho from $38.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.98% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NI. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource has a 12 month low of $24.58 and a 12 month high of $35.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. NiSource’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 18.2% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 3,723 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 11.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 26,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,701 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 6.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,058,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,285,000 after purchasing an additional 61,389 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 15.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 19,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in NiSource by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 3,675 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Company Profile

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.