Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Invests $539,000 in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired 13,446 shares of NiSource, Inc, valued at approximately $539,000, during the first quarter.
• Corporate insiders recently sold a combined total of 16,405 shares worth $631,939, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes in the company.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, representing an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%, with the payment date set for August 20th.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.37. 3,486,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,544,933. The business's 50 day moving average is $40.48 and its 200-day moving average is $39.52. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $31.40 and a 1-year high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

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.