NiSource, Inc $NI Stock Position Lifted by Praxis Investment Management Inc.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 234,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,390,000 after purchasing an additional 53,972 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 90.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 80,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 38,237 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,556,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 358,469 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,371,000 after purchasing an additional 43,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter worth approximately $710,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1%

NI opened at $43.27 on Friday. 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 $20.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.09 and its 200-day moving average is $40.53. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $34.23 and a one year high of $44.51.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “in-line” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised NiSource to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.44.

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.