NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Acquired by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 114.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,207 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 18,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in NiSource by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in NiSource by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 50,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NI stock opened at $43.90 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $33.65 and a 12-month high of $44.51. The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of NiSource from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday. They set an “in-line” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $44.44.

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.