The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $40.75 Million Stake in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has cut its stake in NiSource, Inc by 13.2%, selling 154,080 shares in the first quarter, now owning 1,016,568 shares valued at approximately $40.75 million.
• Nine analysts rate NiSource with a Buy rating and one with a Hold, with an average price target of $42.56, following recent upgrades from firms like Guggenheim and Wells Fargo.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a payment date on November 20th, representing a 2.7% yield and a payout ratio of 59.57%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,016,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 154,080 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.22% of NiSource worth $40,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,844,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,439,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,420 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,020,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $962,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $71,839,000. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $39.82. The stock had a trading volume of 15,859,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,471,881. 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 $18.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $41.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.02. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $33.03 and a 52 week high of $43.51.

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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on NI shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.