Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys Shares of 27,743 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 27,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.27 on Thursday, hitting $36.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,947,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,029,948. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $35.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.71. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.