Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 1,826,202 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,525,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,826,202 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.06% of NiSource worth $226,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in NiSource by 82.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter worth $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.10. The company had a trading volume of 506,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,278,481. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.69. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.86 and a fifty-two week high of $29.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NI. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $30.00) on shares of NiSource in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.71.

NiSource Company 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.