NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Acquired by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC significantly increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 218.3%, now holding 148,627 shares worth approximately $5.996 million.
• NiSource recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 59.57%.
• Wall Street analysts have a positive outlook on NiSource, with eight analysts rating it as "Buy" and an average price target of $44.44.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 218.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,627 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 101,939 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 12,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. raised its holdings in NiSource by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 23,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in NiSource by 1,591.0% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 6,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 41,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $44.18 on Tuesday. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $33.65 and a fifty-two week high of $44.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on NI. Evercore ISI set a $45.00 price objective on NiSource in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.44.

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.

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