NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Citigroup Inc.

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in NiSource, Inc. by 37.4%, acquiring an additional 174,746 shares, bringing its total shares to 642,234, valued at approximately $25.7 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant portion of NiSource, owning 91.64% of the company's stock, reflecting strong institutional interest.
• NiSource recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 2.6%, indicating a positive return for investors.

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 642,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 174,746 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of NiSource worth $25,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 3.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,316,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,778,000 after buying an additional 49,400 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 831,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,345,000 after acquiring an additional 41,701 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 420,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,853,000 after acquiring an additional 9,705 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 1st quarter valued at about $326,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in NiSource by 3.5% in the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 299 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 related 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 directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.93. 3,727,156 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,366,566. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $40.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.67. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $31.70 and a 52-week high of $43.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.53.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.56.

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.