NiSource (NYSE:NI) Receives Outperform Rating from BMO Capital Markets

NiSource (NYSE:NI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $31.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $30.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 8.28% from the company’s current price.

NI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their target price 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 shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.14.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NI traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.63. 3,327,343 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,243,978. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.45. NiSource has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $29.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NiSource

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 130,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 380,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,384,000 after acquiring an additional 54,317 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 62,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 14,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,889 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the period. 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.