NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Purchased by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stock holdings in NiSource, Inc. by 53.6% during the 1st quarter, now owning 23,110 shares worth $926,000.
• Multiple large investors, including Millennium Management and Vanguard Group, significantly boosted their positions in NiSource, with institutional investors owning 91.64% of the stock.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a payout ratio of 59.57% and a yield of 2.8%, payable on November 20th.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 53.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,060 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 968,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,619,000 after purchasing an additional 275,949 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 72.3% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 302,324 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,113,000 after purchasing an additional 126,911 shares during the last quarter. DC Investments Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. DC Investments Management LLC now owns 57,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 20,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, reaching $40.67. 808,026 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,472,935. The stock has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $33.03 and a twelve month high of $43.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $0.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.11.

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.