Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 31,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,537 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in NiSource were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 12.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel raised its stake in NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.80 and a 1 year high of $37.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.76. 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 announced 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.