Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Has $1.92 Million Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 577.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,453 shares during the quarter. NiSource comprises about 0.8% of Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $1,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in NiSource by 53.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $176,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,078 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of NiSource by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $786,249,000 after buying an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in NiSource during the 3rd quarter worth $32,162,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 118.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,616,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,449,000 after purchasing an additional 876,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.4 %

NI opened at $37.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $36.97 and a 200-day moving average of $34.46. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $24.80 and a twelve month high of $38.83.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.05. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 14.63%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $986.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. NiSource’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

NiSource 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.