NiSource, Inc $NI Holdings Decreased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its NiSource stake by 4.3% in the third quarter, selling 44,605 shares and ending the period with 983,885 shares valued at about $38.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on NiSource, with an average price target of $48.58; 12 analysts rate it Buy and one rates it Hold.
• NiSource reported quarterly earnings of $0.27 per share, beating the $0.23 consensus estimate, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% annualized yield.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 983,885 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,605 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of NiSource worth $38,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $4,780,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 207,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,104,000 after acquiring an additional 73,980 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 17.1% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 67,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 9,767 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on NI. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NiSource from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 37,509 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.40, for a total value of $1,590,381.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,527 shares in the company, valued at $3,329,544.80. The trade was a 32.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Shawn Anderson sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $292,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 160,080 shares in the company, valued at $7,203,600. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI opened at $45.31 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $38.42 and a 1-year high of $49.21. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 13.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

About NiSource

NiSource Inc is a regulated energy holding company based in Merrillville, Indiana. Through its operating companies, the company provides natural gas distribution and electric utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

NiSource's natural gas operations include Columbia Gas utilities serving customers in several states, including Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Its electric utility, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), serves customers in northern Indiana and provides both electric power and natural gas services.

The company's operations include energy delivery infrastructure, utility system maintenance, customer services and investments intended to support reliability and the transition of its generation portfolio.

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