Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $34.65 Million Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,000,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $34,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of NiSource by 7.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 29,055 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,551,000 after purchasing an additional 20,060 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 631.2% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 33,620 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 57.6% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 115,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after buying an additional 42,104 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $36.57 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $36.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.67 and a 200-day moving average of $31.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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.