TCW Group Inc. Purchases 183,701 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,704,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 183,701 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.37% of NiSource worth $62,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $40.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.42 and its 200 day moving average is $35.63. NiSource Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.59 and a twelve month high of $40.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company posted $0.53 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NiSource’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource 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 value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.13.

About NiSource

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.