Longboard Asset Management LP Acquires New Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Longboard Asset Management LP bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000. NiSource accounts for approximately 0.7% of Longboard Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in NiSource by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $786,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,888,000 after purchasing an additional 99,882 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,823,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $375,020,000 after purchasing an additional 316,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $371,139,000 after buying an additional 178,365 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $37.58 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $36.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.89. The stock has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.83.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 64.24%.

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.