Blair William & Co. IL Increases Stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in NiSource were worth $868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in NiSource by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 73,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,695,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in NiSource by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 61,656 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after buying an additional 4,266 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $15,522,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in NiSource by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 205,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,550,000 after buying an additional 9,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in NiSource by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 493,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,147,000 after buying an additional 6,096 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $42.26 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day moving average is $39.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $30.66 and a one year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.56.

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.