Custom Index Systems LLC Makes New $269,000 Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NI. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $748,000. Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in NiSource by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,720,000 after purchasing an additional 483,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NiSource during the third quarter worth about $3,068,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE NI opened at $37.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.81. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $24.80 and a one year high of $38.83.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $986.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 64.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.50.

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.

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