Northern Trust Corp Increases Stake in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in NiSource, Inc. by 4.7%, now owning approximately 0.99% of the company valued at $185.98 million.
• NiSource has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for October 31st.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on NiSource, with some upgrades to price targets, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,638,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 206,448 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.99% of NiSource worth $185,976,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,844,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,439,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,420 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,577,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $464,155,000 after buying an additional 857,653 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 185.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in NiSource by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,821,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,239,000 after buying an additional 239,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 0.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,160,409 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $166,791,000 after acquiring an additional 38,822 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,381,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,450,468. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.88. 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 $32.53 and a 52-week high of $43.51.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.56.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.