Banco Santander S.A. Buys Shares of 180,476 NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. acquired 180,476 shares of NiSource, Inc, valued at approximately $7.24 million, marking the bank's new position in the company during the first quarter.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, yielding 2.6%, with an ex-dividend date set for July 31st.
• The company reported earnings of $0.98 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.90 per share, despite revenues falling short of expectations.

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 180,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,235,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 180,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,626,000 after acquiring an additional 36,736 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 30,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 3,172 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in NiSource by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 45,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 18,392 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 724,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,638,000 after purchasing an additional 158,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.09. 831,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,509,791. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $30.66 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.40.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.70.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 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.