PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,676 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, hitting $39.48. 4,469,984 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,404,275. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.25 and a 1 year high of $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $38.13.

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.