Boston Partners Reduces Stake in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 7.6% in Q1, now owning approximately $13.63 million worth of shares.
• Insider transactions included executive Melanie B. Berman selling 6,227 shares for approximately $245,468, marking a significant decrease in her ownership.
• Recent analyst reports have mixed reviews, with price targets ranging from $43.00 to $45.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Boston Partners cut its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339,965 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,920 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.07% of NiSource worth $13,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 234,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,390,000 after acquiring an additional 53,972 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp bought a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,556,000. Capital International Inc. CA bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,612,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in NiSource by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 358,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,371,000 after acquiring an additional 43,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,955,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NI. Guggenheim upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI traded up $0.2050 on Wednesday, reaching $42.4850. 1,165,896 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,485,661. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.73. The firm has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $32.10 and a 12 month high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for 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 earned $0.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.