Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 793.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 883,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 784,495 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.19% of NiSource worth $30,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 11,882 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 16.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,097 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 3,921 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 18.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $109,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in NiSource by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 409,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,802,000 after acquiring an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.50.
Read Our Latest Report on NiSource
Shares of NI opened at $36.56 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.79. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53.
NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (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 was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.
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.
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