UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Boosts Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,365 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,744 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in NiSource by 20.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 119,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 20,444 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $325,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,888,000 after purchasing an additional 99,882 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $245,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,177,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock opened at $39.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.87. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.26 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 EPS. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

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.