CreativeOne Wealth LLC Takes $252,000 Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased 6,296 shares of NiSource, Inc during the 1st quarter, with a total investment of approximately $252,000.
• Recent upgrades from analysts have set price targets for NiSource shares, with Barclays raising its target to $44.00 and Wells Fargo increasing theirs to $45.00.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%, with the ex-dividend date on October 31st.

CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in NiSource by 48.8% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of NiSource by 57.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of NiSource by 39.4% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of 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 research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.11.

NiSource Stock Down 0.1%

NI stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.29. 341,929 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,479,994. 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 1-year low of $33.03 and a 1-year high of $43.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.02. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued 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 yield of 2.8%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

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.