Bailard Inc. Increases Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE NI opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.98 and a twelve month high of $41.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.93 and its 200 day moving average is $36.04.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 earned $0.53 EPS. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource 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 value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight 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.

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.