Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 422,261 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,522,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of NiSource as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 25.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,352,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,852,000 after purchasing an additional 273,159 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $348,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 271.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 25,987 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $280,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.48. 1,806,906 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,140,049. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.46 and a 52-week high of $41.45. 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 company's fifty day moving average price is $39.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.