NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Holistic Financial Partners

Holistic Financial Partners decreased its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. Holistic Financial Partners’ holdings in NiSource were worth $545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th 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 period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $40.09 on Monday. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.59 and a twelve month high of $40.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

NiSource Profile

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.