Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 2.4%, owning approximately 420,374 shares valued at around $16.85 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for NiSource, with Wells Fargo setting a new target at $45.00, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, which contributes to an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 420,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,705 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of NiSource worth $16,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth $326,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,160,409 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $166,791,000 after purchasing an additional 38,822 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at about $445,000. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $666,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.70.

NiSource Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE NI traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $42.26. 3,851,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,466,903. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $30.66 and a 12 month high of $43.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.43 and a 200-day moving average of $39.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.