Nomura Holdings Inc. Acquires New Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Tobam increased its position in NiSource by 3,994.6% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,237 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1 %

NiSource stock opened at $28.32 on Monday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.86 and a 12-month high of $29.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.31 and a 200 day moving average of $27.10.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.02. NiSource had a net margin of 14.23% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 30th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NI. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

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