NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 9,626 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in NiSource by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $922,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 period. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in NiSource by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:NI traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $39.43. 4,027,565 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,132,991. The company has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.39. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.83 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $944,760.18. The trade was a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.