Hartford Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 657 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 1.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE NI opened at $39.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.30. 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 company has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $25.45 and a one year high of $39.99.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued 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 net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

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.