267,744 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 267,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,842,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of NiSource at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NI traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.35. The stock had a trading volume of 620,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,113,768. The company's 50-day moving average price is $39.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.31. The company has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.83 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NI shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.22, for a total transaction of $152,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $944,760.18. The trade was a 13.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.