NiSource, Inc $NI Stock Position Raised by Beck Bode LLC

Key Points

• Beck Bode LLC significantly increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc, acquiring 432,733 shares and raising its ownership position by over 6,400% in the 1st quarter.
• NiSource reported a quarterly profit of $0.22 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $1.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.6%, payable on November 20th.

Beck Bode LLC grew its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6,405.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 439,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 432,733 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises approximately 3.3% of Beck Bode LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Beck Bode LLC owned approximately 0.09% of NiSource worth $17,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NI. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in NiSource by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,844,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,439,236,000 after buying an additional 3,050,420 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $962,997,000 after buying an additional 2,650,827 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at $71,839,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $47,389,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,755,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,828,737. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $32.53 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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