Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,444 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $4,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.16 during trading 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.23. The firm 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Company 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.