NiSource, Inc $NI Holdings Decreased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 36.2%, owning 64,662 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million after selling 36,660 shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on NiSource, with Jefferies downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" and adjusting the target price down from $48.00 to $44.00, while Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating but also set a target price of $44.00.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, with the payment scheduled for November 20th, representing an annual yield of 2.8%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 36.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,660 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of NiSource by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,379,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,861,427. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.05. The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. 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 1-year low of $33.32 and a 1-year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.