iA Global Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 25,103 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in NiSource by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 811 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 44.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale 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 dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of NiSource in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.70.

NiSource Price Performance

NI stock traded down $0.11 on Friday, reaching $42.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,851,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,466,903. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.43 and its 200 day moving average is $39.47. The company has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.59. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $30.66 and a 1 year high of $43.51.

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

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given 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 yield of 2.7%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.