Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 32,594 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 231.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 32,594 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 394,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,039 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in NiSource by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 45,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after buying an additional 991,336 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,041,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after buying an additional 216,121 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth $321,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $36.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.62. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $36.74.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on NI shares. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.