Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Trims Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,725 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment 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.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $36.25 on Thursday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.80 and a 1-year high of $36.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.55 and its 200 day moving average is $31.50. The company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51. 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 (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About NiSource

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.