Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 105,744 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,242,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 105,744 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $64,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in NiSource by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,181,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,910,000 after buying an additional 10,489 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 7,661 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $70,090,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its position in NiSource by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped 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 increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.08 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.17 and a 200-day moving average of $29.51. The company has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $34.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. 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.