NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.50.

Several analysts have recently commented on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth $33,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $36.55 on Friday. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.83.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released 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 net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 forecast that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.