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

Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at $748,000. Thomasville National Bank grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 567,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,850,000 after acquiring an additional 16,364 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,712,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $99,720,000 after acquiring an additional 483,491 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $3,068,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

NiSource Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $41.24 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.98 and a 52 week high of $41.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54.

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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. This is a boost from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.