Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades NiSource (NYSE:NI) to Hold

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group downgraded NiSource from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, maintaining a target price of $44.00, suggesting a potential 10.51% upside from its previous close.
• Several analysts have varied opinions on NiSource, with Barclays maintaining an "overweight" rating and a target increase to $44.00, while Wall Street Zen lowered its rating to "sell."
• NiSource reported $0.22 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, and analysts forecast a 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Friday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $44.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.51% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on NI. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.11.

NiSource Trading Down 4.7%

NI opened at $39.82 on Friday. NiSource has a one year low of $33.03 and a one year high of $43.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Analysts predict that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 90.7% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2,668.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 692 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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