First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 253,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 18,845 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. owned about 0.05% of NiSource worth $10,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in NiSource by 88.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $219,977,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth approximately $195,745,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at $944,760.18. This trade represents a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 value of $245,468.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,528.44. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have issued reports on NI. Mizuho boosted their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.
Read Our Latest Analysis on NiSource
NiSource Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:NI opened at $39.27 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $38.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.36. The company has a market cap of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.83 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.
NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
NiSource Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.54%.
NiSource Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report).
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