Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,972 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 4.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

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 $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.89.

NiSource Price Performance

NI opened at $39.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.