Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stock Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in NiSource by 0.4% in the first quarter, owning approximately 1.02% of the company, valued at $192.6 million.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in NiSource significantly, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB leading with a 64.2% increase in the first quarter.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.7%, to be paid on November 20th.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,804,057 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,453 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 1.02% of NiSource worth $192,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 57.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in NiSource by 39.4% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.11.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $40.35. 10,085,179 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,867,037. 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 1 year low of $33.03 and a 1 year high of $43.51. The company has a market cap of $19.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.02.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

NiSource Company 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.