Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 258,071 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,650,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 258,071 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 1.00% of NiSource worth $161,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 68.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,407,000 after buying an additional 1,353,977 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after purchasing an additional 991,336 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 118.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 1.5 %

NI traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.57. 9,191,559 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,586,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $36.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $34.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.64.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. 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 raised their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.