Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 48,424 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 6.7% in the first quarter, now holding 676,218 shares valued at approximately $27.1 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in NiSource, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB leading with a 64.2% increase in shares.
• Analyst ratings on NiSource vary, with Jefferies Financial Group downgrading it to a "hold" and lowering the price target to $44.00, while other analysts maintain a generally positive outlook.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 676,218 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 48,424 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.14% of NiSource worth $27,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NI. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of NiSource by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 12,140 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 52,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 29,343 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 400.8% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 125,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,602,000 after purchasing an additional 100,193 shares during the period. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.88.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.00. 2,379,899 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,861,427. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $33.32 and a 12 month high of $43.51. The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is 59.57%.

NiSource 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.