NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management L L P NC has reduced its stake in NiSource, Inc by 3.7%, selling 6,344 shares and now holding 165,436 shares worth approximately $6.67 million.
• Institutional investors own 91.64% of NiSource's stock, with several firms, including Assenagon Asset Management S.A. and Miller Howard Investments Inc., increasing their holdings significantly in the second quarter.
• NiSource has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28, payable on November 20th, with a dividend yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 59.57%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,436 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,344 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,844,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,439,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050,420 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 12.4% during the first 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 88.9% during the first 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. Alkeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth about $98,682,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth about $71,839,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. Jefferies Financial Group lowered NiSource from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target 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. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised NiSource to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.88.

NiSource Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NI traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $41.42. 2,312,789 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,501,833. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $33.65 and a 52-week high of $43.51.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during 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 previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.57%.

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.