American Century Companies Inc. Buys 6,688 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,331 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,688 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $7,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during 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 last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI stock traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.11. 6,482,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,107,472. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

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NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.