Newport Trust Company LLC Sells 89,282 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Newport Trust Company LLC cut its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,224,708 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 89,282 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises approximately 0.5% of Newport Trust Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Newport Trust Company LLC owned approximately 1.39% of NiSource worth $179,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 5.7% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 608,567 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,533,000 after acquiring an additional 32,609 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 315,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 25,941 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 33,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 2,387 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the second quarter worth $334,000. Finally, Beck Bode LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.9% in the second quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 438,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,634,000 after purchasing an additional 24,465 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI opened at $33.83 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $34.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $32.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.39. The firm has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NI. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average 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.