HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 858,009 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lessened its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 759,910 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 858,009 shares during the quarter. NiSource makes up 3.0% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $26,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in NiSource by 53.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,162,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 118.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 5,767.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 827,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,851,000 after acquiring an additional 813,770 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 59.4% during the second quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 1,391,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,103,000 after buying an additional 518,873 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $37.35 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.27. 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 (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. NiSource’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal 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.