HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 29,310 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,617,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,310 shares during the quarter. NiSource accounts for about 4.4% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.36% of NiSource worth $46,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 11.1% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in NiSource by 3.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $34.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.61. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $34.56. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.