NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,908,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,697 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 1.09% of NiSource worth $141,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 23.8% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank raised its holdings in NiSource by 0.7% during the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in NiSource by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 14,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $34.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.42. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.86 and a 1 year high of $34.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during 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 last year, the business posted $0.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

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.