Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Free Report) by 156.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,389,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,730,350 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned 2.27% of NiSource worth $262,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in NiSource by 161.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 93.18% of the company’s stock.
NiSource Stock Up 0.3 %
Shares of NI stock traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $27.28. 443,275 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,838,245. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.78 and a 12-month high of $31.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.56.
NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. NiSource had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.
NiSource Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 28th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.03%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. UBS Group raised NiSource from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.25.
Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource
In other NiSource news, SVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 11,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $318,420.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,329 shares in the company, valued at $580,189.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.
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 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.