NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,471,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,093 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises approximately 0.4% of Verition Fund Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.53% of NiSource worth $85,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in NiSource by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,551,000 after buying an additional 20,060 shares during the period. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $3,068,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in NiSource by 57.6% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 115,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 42,104 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in NiSource by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,757,000 after purchasing an additional 144,197 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NI traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.09. The stock had a trading volume of 2,276,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,027,122. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $35.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.23. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.51. 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 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.