Swiss National Bank Has $46.58 Million Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,267,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 63,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of NiSource worth $46,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 9,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $511,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,000,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,653,000 after acquiring an additional 3,186 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 231.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 46,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 32,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 3rd quarter valued at about $748,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.48 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.45. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.25 and a twelve month high of $41.44. The company has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.