Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 48,779 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 824,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,779 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in NiSource were worth $21,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 82.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NI traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.94. 4,604,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,243,731. The firm has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.96 and its 200 day moving average is $26.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $28.95.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

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.