Cibc World Markets Corp Increases Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,960 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NI. Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,788,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.1% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.61 and its 200 day moving average is $36.58. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.26 and a twelve month high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. NiSource’s payout ratio is presently 69.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.