Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC sold 1,146,855 shares of NiSource, Inc, reducing its holdings by 84.8%, leaving it with 206,239 shares valued at $8,268,000.
• NiSource has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6%, to be paid on November 20th to shareholders of record by October 31st.
• Institutional investors now control 91.64% of NiSource's stock, with multiple hedge funds adjusting their positions significantly during the first quarter.

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC trimmed its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 84.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 206,239 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,146,855 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $8,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,474,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,097,000 after purchasing an additional 203,059 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 89,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,397 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $1,719,000. Allstate Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 151.1% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 35,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 21,269 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 47,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.41. 4,133,365 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,977,188. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $32.53 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $41.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid 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 2.6%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reiterated 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 downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.56.

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.