Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $40.10 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.51. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.45 and a 1-year high of $40.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.54. 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) last announced 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 last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

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.