109,772 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 109,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,035,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 1.0 %

NI stock opened at $39.18 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.62. The company has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.26 and a 12 month high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.89.

NiSource Company 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.