Evercore ISI Raises NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target to $32.00

NiSource (NYSE:NI) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.07% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.43.

NiSource Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NI traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.81. The stock had a trading volume of 4,263,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,254,605. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. NiSource has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $29.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.45. The firm has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NiSource

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NI. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.