NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,828 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of NiSource by 68.1% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,977 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL purchased a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after buying an additional 991,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 118.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after buying an additional 876,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4 %

NiSource stock opened at $34.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.11 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.00.

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.