Gallo Partners LP Purchases New Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Gallo Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 43,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,589,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $219,977,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after buying an additional 2,459,452 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.11.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares in the company, valued at $988,339.36. The trade was a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE NI traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,458,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,162,488. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.60 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $39.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.71. The company has a market capitalization of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.26, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.14%.

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.