Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires Shares of 68,189 NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 68,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,734,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lincoln Capital Corp purchased a new stake in NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,556,000. Capital International Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $34,612,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,075,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,291,000 after purchasing an additional 43,608 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 14.0% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 358,469 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,371,000 after purchasing an additional 43,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $4,035,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NYSE:NI traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $39.56. 4,008,390 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,135,262. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.81. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $29.67 and a one year high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Barclays boosted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

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.