5,948 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Bought by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in NiSource by 4.6% in the third quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.4% during the first quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 18,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $27.58. 5,768,682 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,404,475. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $28.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $26.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.17.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.11%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.