Allstate Corp Acquires Shares of 14,075 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $245,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in NiSource by 23.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,586,789 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,632,000 after acquiring an additional 495,738 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in NiSource by 1,412.3% in the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 18,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,990 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $155,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $2,675,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.23. The stock had a trading volume of 8,391,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,072,319. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.09. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.