Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 317,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,597 shares during the period. NiSource comprises 0.7% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of NiSource worth $11,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in NiSource by 12.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 4.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $37.75 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.52.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.97%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.24%.

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.