UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,586,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 495,738 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $89,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth approximately $3,068,000. Comerica Bank raised its position in NiSource by 57.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.4% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,757,000 after buying an additional 144,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $798,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $37.35 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.27. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.80 and a 1-year high of $38.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. NiSource’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.