NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by SIR Capital Management L.P.

SIR Capital Management L.P. decreased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 21.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 317,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 86,889 shares during the quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.07% of NiSource worth $9,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 23.8% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 11.1% during the 1st 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. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $33.45 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.02. 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 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $33.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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.