Atria Investments Inc Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in NiSource were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 5.1% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Stiles Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,243,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,751,000 after buying an additional 255,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 18,623 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $37.69 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.90. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.