IFM Investors Pty Ltd Decreases Stake in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 11.7%, owning 163,243 shares valued at approximately $6.54 million after selling 21,700 shares in the recent quarter.
• Analysts' ratings for NiSource include eight "Buy" ratings and two "Hold" ratings, with a target price average of $43.11.
• NiSource has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share to be paid on November 20th, giving an annual yield of 2.7%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lowered its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,700 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 234,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,390,000 after buying an additional 53,972 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth about $2,556,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised 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 worth $14,371,000 after purchasing an additional 43,947 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in NiSource by 90.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 80,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 38,237 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.88.

NiSource Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:NI traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. 2,379,899 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,861,427. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $33.32 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. 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 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.