NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,094,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,680 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises approximately 1.3% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $108,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of NiSource by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Tobam increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3,994.6% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.93. 681,917 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,190,690. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on NI. Barclays upped their target price on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th.

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.