NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stake Lowered by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 28,865 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of NiSource worth $10,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,946,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,519,823,000 after acquiring an additional 991,336 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $226,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,826,202 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 7,272,420 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,083,000 after purchasing an additional 450,818 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 123.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,593,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,517,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 4,336,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $115,142,000 after purchasing an additional 322,360 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $558,584.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.33. 2,162,265 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,607,766. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.00 and its 200 day moving average is $27.63. The stock has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.66. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $31.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

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.