Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $2.80 Million in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 101,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the first quarter worth $31,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource during the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,978 shares in the company, valued at $558,584.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of NiSource in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.33.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.88. 1,343,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,281,455. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $30.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.37.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.28%.

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.