DnB Asset Management AS Acquires 10,517 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,517 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in NiSource were worth $4,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NiSource

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 transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $40.11 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.94.

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 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 prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. NiSource’s payout ratio 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.