Creative Planning Trims Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Creative Planning cut its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 57,254 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position 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 valued at $246,388,000 after acquiring an additional 5,290,322 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in NiSource by 68.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,342,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353,977 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL bought a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,419,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,519,823,000 after buying an additional 991,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 118.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,449,000 after buying an additional 876,033 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE NI opened at $34.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.58 and a 1-year high of $35.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.99 and a 200-day moving average of $30.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.08%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 65.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.63.

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.