HF Advisory Group LLC Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

HF Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 58,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NI shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $27.10. The stock had a trading volume of 252,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,192,709. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $28.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.63 and a 200-day moving average of $26.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.11%.

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.