GAMMA Investing LLC Grows Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Tobam lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 3,994.6% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,237 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NI opened at $28.34 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.26 and its 200 day moving average is $27.06. The company has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.51. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $29.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 14.23%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 3,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $104,626.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $558,584.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.50.

About NiSource

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.