Strengthening Families & Communities LLC Reduces Holdings in NiSource, Inc $NI

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC trimmed its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,395 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of NiSource by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of NiSource by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE NI opened at $42.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.60. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $33.74 and a 52-week high of $44.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of NiSource to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of NiSource from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.