Thomasville National Bank Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,364 shares during the period. NiSource accounts for 1.5% of Thomasville National Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $20,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Down 0.4 %

NI traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.90. 736,932 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,106,467. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.97. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.80 and a 52-week high of $38.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54.

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

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.