8,068 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $35.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.99. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

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.