Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 19,211 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 68.2%, acquiring an additional 19,211 shares, bringing their total holdings to 47,399 shares valued at approximately $1.91 million.
• NiSource, Inc is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.28 on November 20th, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 59.57%.
• The stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a consensus target price of $44.44.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 68.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,211 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.3% during the first 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. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 12.4% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $962,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 88.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,535,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $221,935,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605,923 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $98,682,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $71,839,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $43.24 on Friday. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $34.23 and a 52 week high of $44.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an "in-line" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.44.

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.

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