Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $99.72 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 483,491 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $99,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NI. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $36.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.03. The stock has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.80 and a 1-year 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.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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.