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

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in NiSource in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource in the second quarter worth $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE NI opened at $35.96 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.47. NiSource has a 12 month low of $24.61 and a 12 month high of $36.40. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.