Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Buys New Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $993,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $37.23 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.09. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.