Assetmark Inc. Has $93,000 Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 202.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $93,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI stock opened at $39.48 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.25 and a 52-week high of $41.44. The stock has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.40.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

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.