Kiker Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Kiker Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $38.89.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.63. The stock had a trading volume of 3,254,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,706,358. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $38.74 and its 200-day moving average is $36.72. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. NiSource's payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.