Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Grows Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 12.8%, owning approximately 860,242 shares worth $34.7 million at the end of the second quarter.
• NiSource declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, set to be paid on November 20th, representing an annualized yield of 2.8%.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $43.88 from analysts, following various upgrades and downgrades in recent months.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 860,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,347 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned approximately 0.18% of NiSource worth $34,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 5.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,844,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,439,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,420 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 12.4% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $962,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,577,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,155,000 after buying an additional 857,653 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,535,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $221,935,000 after buying an additional 2,605,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.7% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,638,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $185,976,000 after buying an additional 206,448 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.63. 3,876,717 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,484,258. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $33.65 and a 52-week high of $43.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.88.

About NiSource

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.