Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource during the second quarter valued at $43,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on NiSource from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on NiSource from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.50.

NiSource Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $35.23 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.58 and a 12-month high of $35.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.24%.

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.