Intech Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 108,834 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $7,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in NiSource by 68.1% in 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 period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,162,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 118.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after acquiring an additional 876,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in NiSource by 5,767.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 827,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,851,000 after purchasing an additional 813,770 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:NI opened at $37.82 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $37.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.97 and a 200 day moving average of $31.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently 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.