NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stake Boosted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 43.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 102,658 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.07% of NiSource worth $11,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NI. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE NI traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $38.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,276,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,779,128. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.80 and a 1 year high of $38.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day moving average of $32.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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%. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.