Truist Financial Corp Raises Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Truist Financial Corp grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 303.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 814,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 612,919 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned about 0.20% of NiSource worth $21,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in NiSource by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in NiSource by 3,994.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $27.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 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 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NI. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays upped 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource 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.