Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,668 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 18,174 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.33.

NiSource Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average is $39.26 and its 200 day moving average is $37.46. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.46 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.

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