Old North State Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in NiSource by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in NiSource by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 91,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the period. Skyline Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,132,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.4 %

NI opened at $37.44 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $36.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54.

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 paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.