Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Free Report) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,215,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 182,997 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.29% of NiSource worth $33,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 108,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter valued at about $244,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in NiSource by 16.0% in the first quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,899,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,064,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth about $405,000. Finally, Credit Suisse AG raised its holdings in NiSource by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 797,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,288,000 after buying an additional 51,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.18% of the company’s stock.
NiSource Trading Up 0.9 %
Shares of NYSE NI opened at $26.44 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.51. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.78 and a 52 week high of $31.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.45.
NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.90% and a net margin of 12.00%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.44%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have issued reports on NI. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. UBS Group raised NiSource from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other NiSource news, EVP William Jr. Jefferson sold 4,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $130,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 30,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,254. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other NiSource news, EVP William Jr. Jefferson sold 4,875 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total value of $130,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,254. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Eugene Brown sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $372,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 187,278 shares in the company, valued at $4,989,085.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 through two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 859,000 customers in northern Indiana, as well as approximately 2.4 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.