Axa S.A. Purchases 49,177 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Axa S.A. increased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 380.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,177 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 29,055 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in NiSource by 12.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after buying an additional 57,658 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in NiSource by 26.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,036,000 after buying an additional 164,532 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new position in NiSource during the first quarter valued at $9,686,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 195,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,198,000 after acquiring an additional 31,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.65 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.64 and its 200 day moving average is $29.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG 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 $34.69.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on NI. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.