LifeWealth Investments LLC Makes New Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,733 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Optiver Holding B.V. grew 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $38.94. 2,717,496 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,146,245. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.79 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $39.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

NiSource Company 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.