NiSource (NYSE:NI) Price Target Raised to $43.00 at BMO Capital Markets

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the utilities provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.81% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NI. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.11.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $39.52. 534,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,130,105. NiSource has a fifty-two week low of $27.46 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 110.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,850,000 after purchasing an additional 16,364 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $566,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.