Hartree Partners LP Invests $3.98 Million in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Hartree Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 108,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,000. NiSource makes up 1.5% of Hartree Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

NiSource Stock Up 0.3 %

NI opened at $39.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.26 and a 12 month high of $41.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.87. The stock has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.14%.

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.