15,374 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in NiSource by 153.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho increased their price target 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. increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. 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. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NI stock opened at $39.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, 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's fifty day moving average price is $39.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

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.

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