28,032 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Acquired by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 28,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,030,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in NiSource by 105.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NiSource in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Stock Up 1.3%

NI stock traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $39.49. 6,150,858 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,139,624. The firm's 50-day moving average is $39.03 and its 200-day moving average is $38.27. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.41. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.83 and a 12 month 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In related news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.