United Services Automobile Association Has $411,000 Stock Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

United Services Automobile Association lowered its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in NiSource were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

NiSource Stock Up 1.6 %

NiSource stock opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.26 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.74 and its 200-day moving average is $36.72. 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 (NYSE:NI) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NI shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.89.

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.