Analysts Set NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Price Target at $37.50

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

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

Institutional Trading of NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource in the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter valued at $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $37.06. 3,823,549 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,660,533. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.53. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current 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.