BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Makes New Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 928,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $32,162,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.20% of NiSource at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $321,000. Natixis purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth about $218,000. BOKF NA increased its holdings in NiSource by 104.7% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 179,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,932,000 after acquiring an additional 91,778 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth about $487,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in NiSource by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,551,000 after acquiring an additional 20,060 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $37.71. 2,678,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,174,931. The stock has a market cap of $17.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $35.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.90. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.07.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.