Moran Wealth Management LLC Invests $3.07 Million in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 88,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,068,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.4 %

NiSource stock opened at $37.82 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.84. The stock has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $37.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.