HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 6,910 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 15.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,910 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 48.8% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 1,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NI stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $33.32 and a 12-month high of $43.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $41.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.60.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.25% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. NiSource’s payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on NI. Zacks Research upgraded NiSource to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded NiSource from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $48.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.88.

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.