Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $3.91 Million Holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 97,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,801 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at $944,760.18. This trade represents a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.76 on Thursday. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $28.42 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.52. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 60.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.50.

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.