NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. lifted its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 133.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 28,791 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $2,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total value of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7%

NI stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.21. The stock had a trading volume of 2,934,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,082,629. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $30.53 and a 12-month high of $42.26.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NI. Barclays raised their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.