Quadrature Capital Ltd Lowers Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Quadrature Capital Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,741 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth about $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 183.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 62.1% during the third quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 1,378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.58% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 2.3 %

NI stock opened at $27.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.78 and a twelve month high of $32.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.20. The stock has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.46.

NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 6th. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource to $31.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of NiSource to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

NiSource Profile

(Get Rating)

NiSource, Inc is a holding company, which engages in energy solutions. Through its subsidiaries, it provides natural gas, electricity, and other products and services. It operates through the following segments: Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The Gas Distribution Operations segment focuses on natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.