NiSource (NYSE:NI) Given New $44.00 Price Target at Mizuho

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Mizuho from $42.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Mizuho’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.03% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

NiSource Trading Down 0.5 %

NI stock opened at $39.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $26.26 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.