Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 790,913 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD has reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 35.1%, selling 790,913 shares, and now holds approximately 0.31% of the company valued at $58.7 million.
• The company has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6%, to be paid on November 20th.
• Despite a mixed analyst outlook, NiSource has received upgrades from firms like Wells Fargo, raising its price objective from $43.00 to $45.00 while maintaining a "Moderate Buy" average rating.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 35.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,464,599 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 790,913 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.31% of NiSource worth $58,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in NiSource by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,548,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,693,000 after buying an additional 46,072 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in NiSource by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in NiSource by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 30,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,107,000 after buying an additional 2,364 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $5,116,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $42.26. 1,755,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,828,737. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $32.53 and a one year high of $43.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.97.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.