US Bancorp DE Acquires 4,666 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

US Bancorp DE raised its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,666 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $38.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $38.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.21. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.04 and a 52-week high of $41.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

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

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.