Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 5,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $38.17 on Thursday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.24%.

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.