471,648 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Bought by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec purchased a new stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 471,648 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,338,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.10% of NiSource at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of 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. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $27.60 and a one year high of $41.45. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of 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. boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.11.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.