NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. cut its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in NiSource by 7.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,323,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,958,000 after acquiring an additional 157,236 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 60.5% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 85,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,469,000 after acquiring an additional 32,304 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in NiSource by 65.6% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 227,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,557,000 after purchasing an additional 90,150 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in NiSource by 380.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 62,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 49,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 118.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $37.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.83. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $36.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 64.24%.

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.