Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 784,495 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 793.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 883,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 784,495 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.19% of NiSource worth $30,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NI. ING Groep NV bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of NiSource by 8.4% in 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 during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $798,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% during 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 period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1 %

NI stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,556,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,034,476. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.56. The company has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.79.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.