Alliancebernstein L.P. Buys 158,675 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 724,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 158,675 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.16% of NiSource worth $26,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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NiSource Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,635,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,134,590. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.26 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $39.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NI. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.

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.