Sowell Financial Services LLC Makes New $264,000 Investment in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th 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 position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $40.52. The company had a trading volume of 5,542,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,121,318. The company has a market capitalization of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.48. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $28.29 and a twelve month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders 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 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

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.