Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,782,078 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 1.10% of NiSource worth $176,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $32,162,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 118.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 5,767.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 827,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,851,000 after purchasing an additional 813,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $22,056,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NI shares. 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 on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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 lifted 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $37.96 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.12 and a 200 day moving average of $32.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current 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.