IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 21,700 Shares of 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 decreased its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 234,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,390,000 after purchasing an additional 53,972 shares during the period. Lincoln Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $2,556,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 90.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 80,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,223,000 after buying an additional 38,237 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 14.0% during 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 buying an additional 43,947 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded down $0.71 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,021,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,450,868. The firm has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $33.32 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.05.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reaffirmed 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.88.

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.