Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,172 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in NiSource by 153.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NI stock opened at $37.23 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.26 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.05. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 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 increased their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.