NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 438,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,448 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $11,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Spreng Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.6% during the third quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $28.54 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.38. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.86 and a 52-week high of $28.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 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 return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NI shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th.

NiSource 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.