7,948 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Purchased by Kiker Wealth Management LLC

Kiker Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NI. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its position in NiSource by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in NiSource by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

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

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $39.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.58. The company has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

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.