Amalgamated Bank Lowers Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 34.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,127 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 46,282 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in NiSource were worth $3,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.22. 2,836,781 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,042,340. The company's 50 day moving average price is $34.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.61 and a 12 month high of $36.40.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $986.00 million. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. NiSource's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.24%.

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.