Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Buys 8,103 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 81.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% during the first 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 grew its position in NiSource by 44.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,008,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,135,262. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.36 and its 200-day moving average is $38.81. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $29.67 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 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 (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of 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 data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, 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 a total of 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 in the last quarter. Company 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.