NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 14,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in NiSource during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $37.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.80 and a 1-year high of $38.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $36.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $986.00 million. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 64.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NI. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.