Toronto Dominion Bank Reduces Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Toronto Dominion Bank trimmed its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 197,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,775 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 16.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth $109,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in NiSource by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 409,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,802,000 after buying an additional 8,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,385,000 after buying an additional 19,343 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $36.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.83. 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 capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.