Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,989 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 794 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE NI opened at $34.65 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $34.69. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.82. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Research 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 given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. 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 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.