Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Acquires 3,061 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 326,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,061 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. owned 0.07% of NiSource worth $11,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 91,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938 shares in the last quarter. Tobam boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 27.8% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 575.0% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its stake in NiSource by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 24,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $847,000 after acquiring an additional 13,028 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI opened at $37.88 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.92 and its 200-day moving average is $35.03. 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 $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.83.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.