NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 705 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in NiSource by 53.3% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $32,162,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of NiSource by 793.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 883,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,609,000 after purchasing an additional 784,495 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

NiSource Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $38.79 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.21. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.88%.

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.