Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc. by 3.9%, bringing its total shares to approximately 1.32 million, valued at about $52.78 million.
• During the first quarter, multiple institutional investors including MassMutual and Larson Financial Group significantly boosted their stakes in NiSource, highlighting strong interest in the utilities provider.
• NiSource recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.22 per share, beating estimates, while analyst ratings for the stock show a consensus of Moderate Buy with target prices ranging from $43.00 to $45.00.

Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,316,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of NiSource worth $52,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $42.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $30.66 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.