Energy Income Partners LLC Purchases 8,265 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners LLC increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 2.4% in Q1, bringing its total ownership to approximately 348,755 shares valued at $13.98 million.
• NiSource posted a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.21, with revenue for the quarter hitting $1.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, which will be paid on November 20th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%.

Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 348,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,265 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of NiSource worth $13,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in NiSource by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.81. 2,807,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,496,031. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $41.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $33.03 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.56.

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.