Lindbrook Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in NiSource by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Tobam increased its holdings in NiSource by 3,994.6% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $28.10 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $28.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.11%.

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.