NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Stake Boosted by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 35.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,477 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings 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 period. Quent Capital LLC increased its position 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. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total value of $152,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $944,760.18. This represents a 13.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock worth $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NI. Guggenheim upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE NI traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $40.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,266,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,121,904. 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 1 year low of $28.29 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.23 and a 200-day moving average of $38.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.55.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.