GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $178,000 Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.6% in the third quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in NiSource by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in NiSource by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 4.6% during the third quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock opened at $27.94 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $22.86 and a one year high of $28.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.265 per share. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource’s payout ratio is 72.11%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total transaction of $297,019.06. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NI. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th.

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.