Beck Bode LLC Increases Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Beck Bode LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 380,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,460 shares during the quarter. NiSource makes up about 2.3% of Beck Bode LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $10,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $1,049,000. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $1,559,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 803,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $21,337,000 after purchasing an additional 128,497 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $5,696,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 201,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,964,000 after buying an additional 70,487 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on 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 NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.86. 3,129,752 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,226,773. The stock has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.00 and a 200-day moving average of $26.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. NiSource Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.86 and a 52 week high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.80%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 72.11%.

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.