NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $37.75 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average of $34.52. The firm has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.80 and a twelve month high of $38.83.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.24%.

NiSource 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.