Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 1,500 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in NiSource by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Thomasville National Bank increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.7% during the second quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 53,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,548,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 11.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $34.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $34.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.42. 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 (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.28%.

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.