BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $46.47 Million Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 19.6%, owning 1,159,203 shares valued at $46.47 million.
• NiSource recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.22, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.21, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share.
• Institutional investors own 91.64% of NiSource's stock, highlighting significant institutional interest in the utilities provider.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,159,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 190,232 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.25% of NiSource worth $46,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 299 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on NI. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.11.

NiSource Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.35. The stock had a trading volume of 7,624,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,488,107. The company has a market capitalization of $19.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $41.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.02. 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 52 week low of $33.03 and a 52 week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. 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.