Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. invested approximately $710,000 in NiSource, acquiring 17,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock in Q1 2023.
• NiSource's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.21, while the company anticipates a total EPS of 1.91 for the current year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share to be paid on November 20th, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in NiSource by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in NiSource by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.88.

NiSource Stock Up 1.4%

NI traded up $0.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $40.18. The company had a trading volume of 6,090,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,099,423. The company has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.58 and a 200-day moving average of $40.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.48. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $33.32 and a 1-year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. NiSource's payout ratio is 59.57%.

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.