Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 3,062 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 886,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.19% of NiSource worth $32,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in NiSource by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 91,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,938 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 25.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,132,000. Finally, Tobam increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 27.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 2,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $38.17 on Thursday. NiSource Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.80 and a 52-week high of $38.83. The stock has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.92 and a 200-day moving average of $34.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.46.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.