NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,243,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 255,348 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of NiSource worth $77,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 8.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,757,000 after buying an additional 144,197 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $798,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $183,636,000 after buying an additional 44,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $36.17. The stock had a trading volume of 10,403,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,051,959. 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 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.09.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. NiSource's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NI shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on 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 NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.