Commerce Bank Buys 1,000 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Commerce Bank boosted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 10.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 12.0% during 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 last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

NI opened at $38.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.17, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.01. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.