First Financial Bankshares Inc Sells 17,832 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

First Financial Bankshares Inc lessened its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,002,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,832 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned 0.22% of NiSource worth $34,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

NiSource Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE NI traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,865,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,379,384. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.58 and a 52 week high of $35.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $15.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.87.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $0.11 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated 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. Mizuho began 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.63.

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.