NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) is Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s 5th Largest Position

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,026,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 257,922 shares during the quarter. NiSource accounts for about 3.9% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned 0.86% of NiSource worth $148,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in NiSource by 249.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 22,066 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in NiSource by 5.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 1,479 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in NiSource by 8.9% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in NiSource by 12.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $303,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.04. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.98 and a 52-week high of $41.30. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.