Bridgewater Associates LP Takes $7.18 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 207,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,177,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in NiSource by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,551,000 after buying an additional 20,060 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,068,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in NiSource by 57.6% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 115,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 42,104 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of NiSource by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,757,000 after purchasing an additional 144,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $38.09. 2,276,811 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,027,122. The stock has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.23. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource 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.