T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NiSource by 12.4%, holding approximately $963 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have also recently adjusted their holdings, with Millennium Management boosting their stakes by 185.0% and Vanguard Group increasing theirs by 5.3%.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for October 31st, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.6%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 12.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 5.10% of NiSource worth $962,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 3.9% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.6050 on Friday, hitting $42.8950. The company had a trading volume of 3,793,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,984,127. 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, Inc has a 52-week low of $32.51 and a 52-week high of $43.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.02 and a 200 day moving average of $39.82. The company has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company'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 directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on NI shares. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

About NiSource

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.