Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,334,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,755 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $85,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 423.6% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.86 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.45 and a 52-week high of $39.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.47. The firm has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is 67.88%.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

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.