NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 180,262 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,736 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $6,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NI. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE NI traded up $0.40 on Friday, reaching $38.41. The stock had a trading volume of 5,635,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,134,590. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.23. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.26 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. 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.