Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $39.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.26 and a one year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. UBS Group raised their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.