NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its shareholding in NiSource, acquiring an additional 53,972 shares, resulting in a 29.9% growth in its position during the 1st quarter, bringing the total to 234,234 shares valued at approximately $9.39 million.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, set to be paid on August 20th, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.7%.
• Despite a 0.3% decline in share price, NiSource reported earnings of $0.22 per share for the last quarter, beating consensus estimates, with projected earnings of 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 234,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 53,972 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $9,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,965,334 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 8.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,577,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,155,000 after purchasing an additional 857,653 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in NiSource by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.56.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.11 during trading on Monday, reaching $42.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,322,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,551,948. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $31.28 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.16 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 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 worth $631,939 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.