NiSource (NYSE:NI) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $38.22 and last traded at $38.16, with a volume of 228715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on 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 shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NiSource

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 12.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. 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.