Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 410,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.09% of NiSource worth $15,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $937,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $38.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.26 and a 12 month high of $41.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $38.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.54. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

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.