NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stake Boosted by Tobam

Tobam boosted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 27.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the quarter. Tobam’s holdings in NiSource were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NI. Thomasville National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 11.1% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its stake in NiSource by 0.7% in the second quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 62,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 5.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

NiSource Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $33.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $15.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.18 and its 200-day moving average is $30.25. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.58 and a 1 year high of $35.10.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.03%.

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.