Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 1,195 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 110.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,273 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 2.1% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 12.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 3.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’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 value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NI opened at $38.44 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.21. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $26.04 and a one year high of $41.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

About NiSource

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.