Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 100,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in NiSource were worth $3,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.
NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %
Shares of NiSource stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $40.26. 1,095,050 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,004,325. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.97 and a 200-day moving average of $36.94.
NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.
Insider Activity at NiSource
In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
NI has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company 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, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.33.
Get Our Latest Analysis on NI
NiSource Company Profile
(
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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