NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Sold by State of Wyoming

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming has significantly reduced its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 79.3%, now owning only 2,671 shares worth approximately $107,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Millennium Management and Vanguard Group, have increased their stakes in NiSource, with Vanguard now owning shares worth $2.44 billion.
• NiSource recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, which will be paid on November 20th, representing an annual yield of 2.8%.

State of Wyoming lowered its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 79.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,671 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,213 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in NiSource were worth $107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 48.8% during 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 shares of NiSource by 44.7% during 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. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,379,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,861,427. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $33.32 and a one year high of $43.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.05.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NI. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.88.

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.