Richardson Financial Services Inc. Cuts Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lessened its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 410 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 123.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,138 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $70,090,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,955,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,432,512,000 after buying an additional 1,850,842 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in NiSource by 3,195.5% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,811,447 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,094,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756,480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI opened at $33.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $34.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.39.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

About NiSource

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.