Zimmer Partners LP Has $8.51 Million Stake in NiSource, Inc $NI

Key Points

• Zimmer Partners LP reduced its holdings in NiSource, Inc by 29.6%, owning 212,227 shares after selling 89,237 shares, valued at $8,508,000 as of the latest quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their positions in NiSource, indicating significant interest from large investment firms.
• Despite recent fluctuations, analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for NiSource, with a target price averaging $43.11.

Zimmer Partners LP reduced its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 89,237 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP's holdings in NiSource were worth $8,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 worth $2,439,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,050,420 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,379,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,794,065. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.05. 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 firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $33.32 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.