NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $36.81 and last traded at $36.78, with a volume of 386387 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in NiSource by 53.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in NiSource by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after purchasing an additional 991,336 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.