Jump Financial LLC Purchases 57,588 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 729.2% in Q1, owning a total of 65,485 shares worth approximately $2.6 million.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 payable on November 20th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views, with one report downgrading NiSource to a "sell" while others have raised price targets, suggesting a consensus price target of $42.56.

Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 729.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 57,588 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st 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 grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st 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. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

NiSource Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE NI traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $42.26. 1,755,787 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,828,737. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $32.53 and a 52-week high of $43.51. The firm has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.97. 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

NiSource 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.