First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 90,667 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. has increased its stake in NiSource, Inc. by 35.8%, acquiring an additional 90,667 shares, bringing its total holdings to 344,257 shares valued at approximately $13.89 million.
• NiSource has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, which represents a 2.5% dividend yield, with shareholders of record set to receive this payment on November 20th.
• Analysts' views on NiSource vary, with some downgrading the stock to "hold" or "sell," while others have an "overweight" rating, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $44.78.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 344,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 90,667 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. owned 0.07% of NiSource worth $13,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 8,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 181.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth $220,000. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 90.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 109.2% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 167,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,774,000 after acquiring an additional 87,660 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $44.11 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $34.23 and a 1 year high of $44.51. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $42.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.63. 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 stock has a market cap of $20.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.60.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.78.

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.

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