Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in NiSource by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after acquiring an additional 29,055 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,658 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,036,000 after buying an additional 164,532 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in NiSource by 3.5% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,551,000 after acquiring an additional 20,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in NiSource by 47.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,923,000 after buying an additional 209,451 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:NI opened at $35.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.78. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.58 and a one year high of $35.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 65.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on NI. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.63.

NiSource Company 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.