Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New $5.37 Million Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 146,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,367,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $37.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.07. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.26 and a 1-year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.