NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in NiSource were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in NiSource by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $176,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,078 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in NiSource by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $32,162,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in NiSource by 793.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 883,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,609,000 after buying an additional 784,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $37.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.80 and a fifty-two week high of $38.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.94.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.