Hartree Partners LP Makes New Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Hartree Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 108,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,977,000. NiSource comprises about 1.5% of Hartree Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,156,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,582,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,459,739. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.25 and a one year high of $41.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.99.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

About NiSource

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.