NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 6.8% in Q1, acquiring an additional 28,851 shares, bringing their total to 451,112 shares valued at approximately $18.09 million.
• NiSource recently reported earnings of $0.22 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.21, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, equating to an annual yield of 2.6%.
• The company's stock is currently valued at $42.45, with nine analysts rating it as a Buy and a moderate buy average price target of $42.56.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 451,112 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,851 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of NiSource worth $18,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in NiSource by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in NiSource by 3.9% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its position in NiSource by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,361,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,496,031. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $32.92 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.01. 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analysts' expectations 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 business posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Guggenheim increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.