Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,483 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,631,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $226,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth $748,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,068,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in NiSource by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,865,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,757,000 after buying an additional 144,197 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $798,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,374,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,636,000 after acquiring an additional 44,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI opened at $36.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.83. The company has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays upped 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 Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.