NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Purchased by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 1.0% during the first quarter, owning 748,320 shares valued at approximately $28 million.
• Vanguard Group Inc. and T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. are among other institutional investors that have also raised their stakes in NiSource, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 91.64%.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.6%, to be paid on November 20th to shareholders of record by October 31st.

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 748,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.16% of NiSource worth $28,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 48.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 1.2%

NI traded up $0.4850 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.1950. The company's stock had a trading volume of 728,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,783. 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 cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.71. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $32.02 and a 52-week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.