First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in NiSource by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 438,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 29,055 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 515,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 57,658 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 796,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,036,000 after acquiring an additional 164,532 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 598,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,551,000 after acquiring an additional 20,060 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 647,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,923,000 after acquiring an additional 209,451 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI opened at $34.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.46.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource 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.