Oak Thistle LLC Has $824,000 Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 157.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,559 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,573 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in NiSource by 48.8% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.9% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, 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 value of $245,468.34. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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 boosted their price objective 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. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim increased 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $42.21. 2,934,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,082,629. The stock has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $30.53 and a twelve month high of $42.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

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.