NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 17,033 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 103.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,033 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $38.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.87. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.26 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.