Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 315,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,941 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.07% of NiSource worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $34.08 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.09 and its 200 day moving average is $29.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $34.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

NiSource Company 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.