NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stake Trimmed by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,149 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 63,281 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $246,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,322 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 3.6% in 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 last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in NiSource by 68.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $96,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,353,977 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at about $34,419,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 5,767.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 827,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,851,000 after purchasing an additional 813,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $33.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.20. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.10.

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. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a 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 five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.00.

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.