Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $1.36 Million Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. decreased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 10.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,795 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thomasville National Bank grew its holdings in NiSource by 925.4% in the 3rd quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 550,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,086,000 after buying an additional 497,113 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 114.2% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 24,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 13,028 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in NiSource by 575.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares during the period. Tobam increased its position in NiSource by 27.8% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,132,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE NI opened at $34.49 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.58 and a 1-year high of $35.10. The company has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.11 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America started coverage on NiSource in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on NiSource from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho assumed coverage on NiSource in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.00.

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.