Bfsg LLC Takes $5.70 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 214,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,696,000. Bfsg LLC owned about 0.05% of NiSource at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 0.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 13,111,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $323,582,000 after purchasing an additional 39,374 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 4.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,101,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,952,000 after acquiring an additional 326,999 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of NiSource by 20.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,070,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $125,149,000 after acquiring an additional 865,245 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource by 7.8% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,400,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $108,605,000 after acquiring an additional 319,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 10.5% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 4,014,441 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,076,000 after purchasing an additional 382,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd.

NiSource Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE NI traded down $0.08 on Thursday, hitting $28.10. 4,203,859 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,239,192. The company's 50 day moving average price is $26.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.49. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.86 and a twelve month high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 72.11%.

NiSource Company 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.