Vennlight Capital Management LP Invests $9.63 Million in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Vennlight Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 262,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,631,000. NiSource accounts for about 9.1% of Vennlight Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Vennlight Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of NiSource as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in NiSource in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in NiSource by 153.2% in 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 shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in NiSource by 105.0% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group increased 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $38.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,136,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,161,271. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.08. NiSource Inc. has a one year low of $27.60 and a one year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.