Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 38,480 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 3.7%, now owning approximately 990,916 shares valued at about $39.7 million.
• NiSource has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.7%, payable to investors on November 20th.
• Several analysts have downgraded NiSource, impacting its stock ratings, with seven analysts rating it as a Buy and two as Hold, while the average target price is $43.88.

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 990,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,480 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.21% of NiSource worth $39,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 1.0%

NI traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $40.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,767,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,460,197. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.88.

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.