Everhart Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,223 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,142 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NI opened at $39.74 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.45 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average of $35.33.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 67.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

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.