Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,212 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in NiSource were worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in NiSource by 153.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NI stock traded up $0.51 on Friday, reaching $39.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,073,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,162,775. The stock has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. NiSource Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.60 and a 1 year high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.16.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

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.