MetLife Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 123,548 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,928 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $4,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Trading Down 1.5 %

NiSource stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.13. The company had a trading volume of 4,678,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,155,478. The stock has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.60 and a 1-year high of $41.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $39.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.65.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.11.

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.