NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,492 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $37.75 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $24.80 and a 1 year high of $38.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The company’s fifty day moving average is $36.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.