Allstate Corp Acquires New Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $245,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in NiSource by 23.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,586,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,632,000 after acquiring an additional 495,738 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 1,412.3% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 18,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 16,990 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $155,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.8 %

NiSource stock opened at $40.40 on Wednesday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.26 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.99.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

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.