NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC

White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 97.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,545 shares during the period. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NI. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Down 1.1%

NI opened at $39.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.10 and its 200-day moving average is $38.08. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.60 and a 52-week high of $41.45. 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 (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.