Czech National Bank Purchases 6,731 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,731 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in NiSource were worth $4,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $219,977,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter worth $195,745,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.94. 3,174,055 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,115,992. The firm has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $39.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.32. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.83 and a 12 month high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. NiSource's payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.