NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,645 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $37.35 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.27. 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 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.