NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Acquired by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 13.7%, owning a total of 166,000 shares valued at approximately $6.66 million after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares in the first quarter.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.28 will be paid on November 20th, with a dividend yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 59.57%.
• Analysts have mixed views on NiSource, with eight analysts rating it as a "Buy" while two have rated it as a "Hold," applying an average target price of $43.11.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 3.9% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 0.6% in the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,414,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,453,806. The company has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $33.32 and a 1-year high of $43.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.05.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.