NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in NiSource were worth $460,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Archer Investment Corp raised its position in NiSource by 696.2% during the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 12,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in NiSource by 8.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 65,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 5,103 shares during the period. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth $748,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in NiSource by 231.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 46,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 32,594 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NI opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. 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 $37.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.