Picton Mahoney Asset Management Boosts Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 30.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 206,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,786 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter worth $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $33.06. 9,601,737 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,267,960. The firm has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.69. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $33.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.