NiSource (NYSE:NI) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource (NYSE:NI) in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 11.08% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on NI. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.63.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.11. 512,491 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,021,533. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.89 and its 200 day moving average is $30.81. NiSource has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.48. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.