OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC Makes New $357,000 Investment in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC invested approximately $357,000 in NiSource, acquiring 8,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock.
• Institutional investors now own 91.64% of NiSource's stock, with Vanguard Group Inc. increasing its holdings by 5.3% in the first quarter.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.12 and a yield of 2.6%.

OneAscent Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 44.7% in 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. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

NiSource Stock Up 1.0%

NI traded up $0.4370 on Tuesday, reaching $42.1470. The company's stock had a trading volume of 647,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,509. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $32.02 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.