Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $27.03 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 735,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,612 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $27,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in NiSource in the second quarter worth $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $37.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.97 and a 200-day moving average of $34.46. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $24.80 and a 12-month high of $38.83.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders 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 2.98%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average 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.