Beck Bode LLC Acquires 17,460 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Beck Bode LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 380,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,460 shares during the period. NiSource accounts for about 2.3% of Beck Bode LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Beck Bode LLC owned 0.09% of NiSource worth $10,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in NiSource by 46.2% in the fourth 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 boosted its holdings in NiSource by 82.5% in the third 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. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in NiSource in the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Tobam raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 3,994.6% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 2,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 2,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $27.86. 3,129,752 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,226,773. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.32. 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 results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). The business 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NI. StockNews.com raised NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

About NiSource

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.