Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 52,260 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 52,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,921,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $37.23 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.09 and its 200-day moving average is $37.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NI. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

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.