Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 7,300 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 1.7%, owning approximately 428,862 shares valued at $17.19 million after selling 7,300 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Alkeon Capital Management and Energy Income Partners, have recently altered their stakes, with Alkeon purchasing $98.68 million worth of NiSource shares.
• NiSource reported a quarterly profit of $0.22 per share, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, providing a yield of 2.8%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. decreased its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 428,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,300 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.09% of NiSource worth $17,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NI. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 57.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in NiSource by 39.4% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.11.

NiSource Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,422,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,841,977. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.04. The firm has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $33.32 and a 1-year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

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.