Zacks Investment Management Sells 1,371 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,371 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in NiSource were worth $5,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in NiSource by 8.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,757,000 after acquiring an additional 144,197 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $798,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,636,000 after buying an additional 44,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $37.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.53. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on 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 started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.