Panagora Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 62.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 91,519 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NI. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NiSource Stock Up 0.7 %

NiSource stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.06. 9,601,737 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,322,782. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $33.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.11 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

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.