UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 280,453 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,867,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 280,453 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.61% of NiSource worth $105,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in NiSource by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $785,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,334 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in NiSource by 88.4% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NiSource by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,765,000 after purchasing an additional 700,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.28. 2,548,516 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,156,317. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.60 and a 1-year high of $41.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total transaction of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NI. 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, NiSource currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

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.