NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Bought by Intech Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 122.8%, acquiring an additional 72,260 shares to hold a total of 131,081 shares valued at approximately $5.25 million.
• Several other institutional investors also enhanced their positions in NiSource, with noteworthy increases including MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust by 64.2% and Brooklyn Investment Group by 57.3% during the same quarter.
• Analyst ratings for NiSource have varied recently, with some firms downgrading their ratings, while a majority still rate it as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $43.88.

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 122.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 72,260 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in NiSource by 57.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in NiSource by 39.4% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.88.

NiSource Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:NI traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $40.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,990,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,461,390. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $41.57 and a 200 day moving average of $40.04. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $33.32 and a one year high of $43.51. The company has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

About NiSource

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.