California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,075,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,608 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.44% of NiSource worth $76,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NiSource Stock Performance
Shares of NiSource stock traded down $0.93 on Thursday, hitting $39.71. 8,705,580 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,042,630. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48.
NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.
NiSource Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced 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 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.
Insider Transactions at NiSource
In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have issued reports on NI. UBS Group lifted their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $39.33.
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About NiSource
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Free Report)
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.
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