Amica Mutual Insurance Co. Buys Shares of 22,772 NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 22,772 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $605,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of NiSource by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 72,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 23,330 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its stake in NiSource by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 20,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in NiSource by 2.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 130,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in NiSource by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 8,130 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 58,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,797,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,234,289. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $28.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during 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 prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.