NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Stock Position Raised by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 195.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,303 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

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

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI opened at $38.44 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $38.11 and its 200-day moving average is $36.21. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.04 and a 12 month high of $41.44. The firm has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly 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 last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

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.