UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Boosts Stock Position in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 34.2% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 3.85 million shares valued at $154.29 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, have also raised their holdings in NiSource, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 91.64%.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a payment date set for November 20th, reflecting a 2.7% yield based on its annualized dividend.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,848,571 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 981,329 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.82% of NiSource worth $154,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.3% in 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 buying an additional 3,050,420 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $962,997,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,827 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,577,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,155,000 after purchasing an additional 857,653 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource by 88.9% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in NiSource by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,821,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,239,000 after purchasing an additional 239,897 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NiSource Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:NI opened at $41.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.05. The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $33.32 and a 1 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.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.