NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 137,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in NiSource by 123.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092,138 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,090,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,955,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,432,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826,202 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 1.3 %

NI opened at $34.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $34.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.24. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NI. Barclays increased their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

NiSource 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.