Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 755 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in NiSource were worth $635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,614 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 106,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,397,000 after acquiring an additional 20,064 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 146,548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,660,000 after acquiring an additional 58,398 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,952,676 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,093,000 after acquiring an additional 447,102 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $472,000. 92.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $27.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.45. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.78 and a 1-year high of $32.08.

NiSource (NYSE:NI – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The firm had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 11.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 27th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Kimberly S. Cuccia sold 11,157 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.54, for a total value of $318,420.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,189.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on NiSource in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

NiSource Profile

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NiSource, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of energy solutions. It operates under the Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations segments. The Gas Distribution Operations segment provides natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.