Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $6.32 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 171,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,316,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 249.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 22,066 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in NiSource by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in NiSource by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 35,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in NiSource by 12.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth $303,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.98 and a 12 month high of $41.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.04.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

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.