NiSource, Inc $NI Shares Bought by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 212,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,627 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $9,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in NiSource by 90.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 2,668.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE NI opened at $44.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $35.64 and a fifty-two week high of $44.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $42.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.39. The stock has a market cap of $21.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.65.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.25 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 59.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, EVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $345,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,983.11. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NiSource from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.11.

About NiSource

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.