Picton Mahoney Asset Management Has $12.34 Million Stock Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in NiSource, Inc by 5.1% in the first quarter, owning 307,909 shares valued at approximately $12 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in NiSource, with Millennium Management growing its stake by 185% during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for NiSource, with JPMorgan Chase enhancing their target to **$43.00**, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 307,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,033 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned about 0.07% of NiSource worth $12,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in NiSource by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $785,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,334 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in NiSource by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 11,577,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,155,000 after purchasing an additional 857,653 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after acquiring an additional 700,747 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted 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 worth $339,837,000 after acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Guggenheim upped their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.0%

NI stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.47. 1,541,726 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,505,368. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $40.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a one year low of $30.53 and a one year high of $42.90.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.54%.

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.