Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Takes Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $219,977,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE NI traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,455,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,130,527. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $39.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.75. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $28.42 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on 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 raised their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.