Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 258,071 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,650,476 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 258,071 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in NiSource were worth $161,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NI opened at $36.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.67 and its 200 day moving average is $31.62. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $36.74. The company has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

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