AMG National Trust Bank Buys Shares of 48,642 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 48,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its stake in NiSource by 10.5% in the second quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 21,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth $43,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in NiSource by 8.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 98,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the second quarter worth about $700,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.81. The stock had a trading volume of 5,178,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $30.29 and its 200 day moving average is $28.45. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $33.01.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

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.