17,709 Shares in NiSource, Inc $NI Purchased by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

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. bought a new stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 17,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $710,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 39.4% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.88.

NiSource Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $40.58. 4,361,228 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,794,065. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $33.32 and a 12 month high of $43.51. The company has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. 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's 50-day moving average price is $41.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $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, 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 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.