Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 2,637 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 359,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,637 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in NiSource were worth $9,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in NiSource by 4.6% during the third quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 18,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Price Performance

NI opened at $27.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.72 and a 200 day moving average of $26.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.86 and a fifty-two week high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.11%.

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.