Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired 925,761 shares of NiSource, Inc valued at approximately $37.1 million, bringing its ownership to about 0.20% of the company.
• NiSource reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.22 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.21, with a total revenue of $1.16 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, scheduled to be paid on November 20, representing an annualized yield of 2.7%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 925,761 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,114,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.20% of NiSource at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in NiSource by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in NiSource by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.88.

NiSource Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:NI traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,328,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,458,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.04. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $33.32 and a 52 week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

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.