Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Invests $401,000 in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 41.4% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of NiSource by 82.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.19. 5,601,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,239,639. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $28.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.26.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NI. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

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.