Board of the Pension Protection Fund Takes Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 24,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $986,000. NiSource comprises about 1.1% of Board of the Pension Protection Fund's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in NiSource by 110.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $34,612,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,075,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,291,000 after acquiring an additional 43,608 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,035,000. Finally, Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NYSE:NI traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.01. 7,013,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,136,355. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $28.42 and a one year high of $41.45. The company has a market capitalization of $18.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

About NiSource

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.