NiSource (NYSE:NI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price upped by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $39.00 to $43.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

NI opened at $39.74 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.30. NiSource has a 12 month low of $25.45 and a 12 month high of $39.99.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,338,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 155,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,726,000 after acquiring an additional 23,361 shares during the period. Gallo Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 77,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.