By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 113,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,066 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 36,338 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 8,764 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in NiSource by 25.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,352,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,852,000 after buying an additional 273,159 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in NiSource by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 52,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,836,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have recently commented on NI. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on NI
Insider Transactions at NiSource
In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.
NiSource Trading Up 1.0 %
Shares of NYSE NI opened at $38.41 on Monday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.26 and a 1-year high of $41.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.
NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.
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.
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