Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Decreases Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Ausbil Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in NiSource by 27.4%, now holding 133,126 shares worth approximately $5.37 million in their portfolio.
• Despite Ausbil's decrease, other investors like MassMutual and Larson Financial have increased their stakes significantly, reflecting varying investor sentiments toward NiSource.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, translating to an annualized yield of 2.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 31st.

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 133,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 50,330 shares during the period. NiSource accounts for 3.1% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Seven investment 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.88.

NiSource Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NI stock opened at $42.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.15. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $33.65 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The firm has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

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 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.

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