NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Bought by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $18 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on NiSource, with some lowering their ratings and price targets while others maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $44.44.
• NiSource will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share on November 20, with a current annualized yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 59.57%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 447,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,685 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of NiSource worth $18,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 305.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 13,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 10,198 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 9,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 294.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 63,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 47,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday. They set an "in-line" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.44.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $43.90 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $33.65 and a one year high of $44.51. The company has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.38.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

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.

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