NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Holdings Boosted by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.48 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $41.44. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.