Spire Wealth Management Purchases New Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NI. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $748,000. Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in NiSource by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,068,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:NI opened at $37.88 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.09. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.80 and a 52 week high of $38.83.

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 paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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