Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 19,509 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NiSource by 3.3% in the first quarter, owning a total of 618,639 shares valued at approximately $24.8 million.
• Several institutional investors also raised their stakes in NiSource during the fourth quarter, with notable increases such as O Shaughnessy Asset Management growing its position by 67.7%.
• NiSource recently reported strong quarterly earnings, exceeding expectations with $0.98 earnings per share, leading several analysts to upgrade their target prices for the stock.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 618,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,509 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of NiSource worth $24,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in NiSource by 64.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in NiSource by 48.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 44.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NI. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. 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 report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE NI traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $42.58. 3,260,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,042,133. The stock has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $42.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.34.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm 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 period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's 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 owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.