NiSource (NYSE:NI) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Mizuho

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Mizuho from $38.00 to $40.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.44% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $34.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,026,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.46. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.98. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.