Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,215 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $5,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $219,977,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in NiSource by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in NiSource by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459,452 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 sale, 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. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NI shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 lifted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, NiSource has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1%

NI stock opened at $39.56 on Friday. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $29.67 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day moving average is $38.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio 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.

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