NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of NiSource worth $46,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $183,636,000 after acquiring an additional 44,598 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in NiSource by 1.4% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,908,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $141,415,000 after acquiring an additional 67,697 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in NiSource by 68.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in NiSource by 7.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,323,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,958,000 after purchasing an additional 157,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NiSource stock opened at $37.30 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.80 and a 52-week high of $37.31. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.80.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.