NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 69.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,729 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in NiSource were worth $3,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $219,977,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $785,563,000 after buying an additional 1,965,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.70.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE NI traded down $1.03 on Wednesday, reaching $41.88. 7,779,916 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,557,674. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.40. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $30.66 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.