Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $92.78 Million Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,494,541 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 82,957 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.85% of NiSource worth $92,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.6% in the third quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $28.80. 4,151,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,297,535. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.53. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $29.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

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.