NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Morton Community Bank

Morton Community Bank grew its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,820 shares during the period. NiSource makes up 1.1% of Morton Community Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 89,226 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,280,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 92,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,407,000 after buying an additional 4,139 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 129,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,774,000 after buying an additional 8,676 shares during the period. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 195.9% in the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 21,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $38.44 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.23. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.04 and a 1-year high of $41.44. The company has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

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.