Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Acquires 10,738 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 215,182 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,738 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $8,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the first quarter worth $80,000. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in NiSource by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 55,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 10,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter valued at about $4,277,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, hitting $40.53. 4,266,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,121,904. The company has a 50 day moving average of $39.23 and a 200 day moving average of $38.50. The stock has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NiSource, Inc has a 12 month low of $28.29 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim increased their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

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.