NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Hanson & Doremus Investment Management

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 23.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,266 shares during the quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at $31,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock opened at $34.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.63. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $34.14.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 14.76%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.11 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho began coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

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.