Amalgamated Bank Reduces Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,355 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 303.4% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 814,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,637,000 after acquiring an additional 612,919 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 2,786,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,980,000 after buying an additional 568,980 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $13,918,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of NiSource by 65.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,191,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,394,000 after buying an additional 469,500 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in NiSource by 10.5% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 4,014,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,076,000 after acquiring an additional 382,569 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock opened at $28.90 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $29.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.46.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.11%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.43.

About NiSource

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.