Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in NiSource by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NI. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI stock opened at $27.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $28.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.30.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during 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 period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.11%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.