NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,997 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE NI opened at $27.15 on Thursday. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $28.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.63 and a 200-day moving average of $26.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

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.