Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 27.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,171 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $34.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. 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 one year low of $24.58 and a one year high of $35.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.89 and a 200 day moving average of $30.77.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NI. Mizuho started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.29.

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.