NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,820 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,712 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of NiSource worth $8,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after purchasing an additional 991,336 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in NiSource by 146.2% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 8,907,743 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $246,388,000 after buying an additional 5,290,322 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826,202 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 7,272,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $193,083,000 after acquiring an additional 450,818 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in NiSource by 123.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $33.06 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $33.13. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.76. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

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.