Farther Finance Advisors LLC Purchases 10,198 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 305.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,198 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in 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. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.18 on Monday, hitting $39.34. 3,758,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,134,804. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.83 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.41. The firm has a market cap of $18.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus 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.