NBC Securities Inc. Acquires 128,291 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 102,632.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 128,291 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $5,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.5%

NI traded down $0.21 during trading on Thursday, reaching $38.87. 786,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,106,773. The company's fifty day moving average price is $39.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.83 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 ninety days, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NI. Guggenheim boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.