11,102 Shares in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Bought by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. made a new investment of approximately $445,000 in NiSource, Inc, acquiring 11,102 shares of the utility provider's stock during the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Wells Fargo & Company MN and Federated Hermes Inc., have recently increased their holdings in NiSource, underscoring growing institutional interest.
• NiSource announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 2.7%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31st.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 11,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 48.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 3.9% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,448 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.56.

NiSource Trading Up 0.5%

NI traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $42.37. 3,799,232 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,485,195. The company's 50 day moving average is $40.54 and its 200-day moving average is $39.54. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource, Inc has a twelve month low of $31.40 and a twelve month high of $43.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.59.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.01. NiSource had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.