BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Makes New Investment in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 37,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,394,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 31,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 5,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total value of $219,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $988,339.36. This represents a 18.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NI traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.34. The company had a trading volume of 5,363,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,164,600. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.60 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $39.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.79.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

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.