First Financial Bankshares Inc Has $36.69 Million Stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

First Financial Bankshares Inc decreased its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 998,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,298 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc owned 0.21% of NiSource worth $36,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in NiSource by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 18,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 410,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,096,000 after purchasing an additional 6,348 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 72,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 11,960 shares during the period. Sovereign Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth about $775,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 599,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,024,000 after purchasing an additional 12,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI opened at $38.91 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.49 and its 200-day moving average is $36.54. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.26 and a 52-week high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $0.53 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. NiSource’s payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.13.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.