Cibc World Markets Corp Buys 11,960 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,960 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $775,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 599,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,024,000 after purchasing an additional 12,885 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its stake in NiSource by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 292,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,765,000 after purchasing an additional 87,423 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $39.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $38.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.58. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.26 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.