375,000 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Purchased by Polymer Capital Management US LLC

Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 375,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,785,000. NiSource accounts for 3.7% of Polymer Capital Management US LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Polymer Capital Management US LLC owned about 0.08% of NiSource at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity 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 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 in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $37.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.09 and a 200 day moving average of $37.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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