Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $11.56 Million Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 83.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 143,352 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of NiSource worth $11,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Investment Management Co. raised its position in NiSource by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 29,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 26,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $974,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 54,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $437,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 294,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,836,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NI shares. Mizuho raised their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.13.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $39.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $37.09 and its 200-day moving average is $35.36. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.45 and a 52-week high of $39.99. The company has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 8.27%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 67.88%.

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.