Brookstone Capital Management Makes New $9.69 Million Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Brookstone Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 350,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,686,000. Brookstone Capital Management owned approximately 0.08% of NiSource as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $29.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.46 and its 200 day moving average is $27.16. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $29.44. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NI shares. Barclays upped their price target on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.20.

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.