The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,470,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,177 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in NiSource were worth $42,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in NiSource during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. 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. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.38 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $34.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

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.