Premier Fund Managers Ltd Boosts Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 100,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $3,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NI. UBS Group raised their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho lifted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

NiSource Trading Down 0.6 %

NiSource stock opened at $39.76 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.80. 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 released 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.